The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Priyanka Singh, challenging a Bombay High Court order upholding a first information report against her in connection with her brother’s death, Bar and Bench reported. Rajput was found dead in his apartment in Mumbai in June.
In the FIR registered against Priyanka Singh, the Mumbai Police accused her of forging and procuring a fake medical prescription for Rajput. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by actor Rhea Chakraborty, in which Rajput’s other sister Meetu Singh was also named.
On February 15, the Bombay High Court quashed the complaint against Meetu Singh, but held that the investigation against Priyanka Singh will continue. The two sisters had approached the court seeking dismissal of the complaint against them.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian heard the plea to quash the FIR against Priyanka Singh on Friday. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh told the court that no illegal medicines were prescribed to Rajput.
However, the court dismissed his arguments and said it was not inclined to hear the matter. The judges said the Central Bureau of Investigation will take over the inquiry against Priyanka Singh, in accordance with the earlier ruling that all FIRs related to Rajput’s death will be investigated by the central agency only, NDTV reported.
In her complaint, Chakraborty had alleged that Rajput’s sisters used a fabricated medical prescription to help him procure medicines banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act only a few days before his death. She also named Tarun Kumar, a doctor at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi, who allegedly signed the prescription.
The sisters had, however, claimed that the FIR was lodged to “concoct a whole new story entirely different from the statements made” by Chakraborty before the Supreme Court and media platforms.
The sisters’ counsel had argued that the medicines could have been prescribed to Rajput as per the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines during the pandemic, when people could not go out of their homes. However, Mumbai Police’s lawyer countered the argument submitting that there was no online consultation with the doctor and had claimed that the police have WhatsApp chats to prove that.
The court, in its verdict, held that there was a “prima facie case” against Priyanka Singh and directed that “there should not be any impediment against investigation against her”.
Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14, 2020, in what the police initially said appeared to be a case of suicide. But subsequently Rajput’s family filed a complaint with the Bihar Police accusing his former live-in partner Chakraborty of abetment of suicide and cheating. Three central agencies – the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Narcotics Control Bureau – took up cases against her.
Chakraborty, who was eventually arrested for consuming drugs, was granted bail on October 7. Her brother was also arrested in the case and granted bail after three months.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!