Bombay high court quashes plaint against Sushant Singh Rajput's sister, Meetu Singh, but allows other sister to be probed

The Bombay high court on Monday quashed the complaint registered by the Mumbai police against the late Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Meetu Singh. However, the court held that the plaint against the actor's other sister, Priyanka Singh, and Dr Tarun Kumar, who were named as accused in a first information report (FIR) filed by the police, would be upheld. 

Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986–14 June 2020): A star that shone briefly and was gone

The order was pronounced by a bench led by justice SS Shinde and justice MS Karnik.

Legal website BarandBench.com quoted the bench as observing, "There is prima facie case found against Priyanka Singh and there should not be any impediment against investigation against her."

The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint by actress Rhea Chakraborty, who had alleged that Rajput's sisters had conspired with Dr Kumar to obtain a false prescription in order to administer banned medicines to the late actor. 

The sisters had challenged the complaint in the high court, stating that the actress was ''concocting'' a new story and also claimed ''mala fide'' intentions on the part of the Mumbai police. In their legal suit, Rajput's sisters had cited the delay of 90 days in filing the FIR as one of the odd points of procedure and also claimed that since the investigation into their brother's death had been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Mumbai police did not have the jurisdiction to file an FIR.

According to BarandBench.com, Mumbai police's legal counsel senior advocate Devadatt Kamat pointed to WhatsApp chats shared by Chakraborty to point out that medicines were being prescribed without online consultation. Advocate Satish Maneshinde also justified the delay in filing the FIR as Chakraborty had only learnt about the prescriptions during the process of her CBI investigation and could not file a counter-complaint with the CBI. 

In the order, the bench observed that the WhatsApp conversation between Priyanka Singh and Rajput demonstrated that 'no teleconsultation actually took place between the late actor and Dr Kumar. "It is thus submitted that in view of the materials on record an investigation is necessitated as the material shows that there was not even an online consultation with the doctor and the prescription is fabricated," read the order.

Rajput was found hanging in his Bandra apartment in Mumbai on 14 June 2020. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences' (AIIMS) Forensic Medical Board, which was looking into the death of the actor, ruled out the possibility of murder in its report on 3 October.

Chakraborty, who dated Rajput in the months prior to his demise, was accused of procuring drugs for him. The 28-year-old actress was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on 8 September but was granted bail by the Bombay high court on 7 October. Her younger brother, Showik, who along with Samuel Miranda — the house manager of the late actor — had been arrested a few days prior to her, was granted bail by a special court on 2 December.