The Bombay High Court has reportedly acquitted actor Rahul Raj Singh in the case concerning the death of television actress Pratyusha Banerjee. The development comes nearly a decade after Banerjee died in Mumbai in 2016. Singh had faced allegations of abetting her suicide, while Banerjee’s parents had accused him of mentally and physically harassing their daughter. According to a report by The Indian Express cited in the source material, a bench headed by Justice Shivkumar Dige considered the couple’s final conversation while deciding Singh’s challenge to the proceedings.
Court considers final conversation
According to the report, Singh’s lawyers Abad Ponda and Shreyansh Mithare argued that the conversation between Singh and Banerjee shortly before her death did not support the allegation that he had encouraged her to take the step.
The defence told the court that Banerjee’s conversation referred to her difficult circumstances and included references to several people, including her parents. The lawyers also said Singh had attempted to dissuade her from harming herself. They questioned aspects of the initial FIR and the circumstances in which the case was registered.
The court’s decision followed Singh’s challenge to the continuation of the case after earlier proceedings in the lower court.
Why Rahul Raj Singh approached the High Court
Singh was granted anticipatory bail by the Bombay High Court in July 2016. Later, after the Bangur Nagar police filed a chargesheet in 2018, he approached the sessions court seeking discharge from the case.
The sessions court rejected his discharge application in August 2023. Following that decision, Singh moved the Bombay High Court, seeking relief from the proceedings. The latest order has now brought a significant development in the case that had remained before the courts for several years.
Pratyusha Banerjee died in 2016
Pratyusha Banerjee, widely recognised for playing Anandi in the television serial Balika Vadhu, died on April 1, 2016, at her residence in Mumbai’s Goregaon area. She was subsequently taken to hospital, where she was declared dead.
Following her death, her parents accused Singh of subjecting her to mental and physical harassment and initiated legal proceedings against him. Singh has denied the allegations and has offered his own account of the circumstances surrounding her death.
Different claims emerged after her death
The case has involved conflicting accounts from people connected with Banerjee and Singh. In a later podcast appearance, Singh made claims concerning Banerjee’s relationship with her father and also spoke about her alleged drinking habits. These were Singh’s own claims and were part of his account of events.
Actress Kamya Punjabi, who had been close to Banerjee, had also publicly made allegations concerning Singh following the actress’s death. Such statements formed part of the wider public discussion surrounding the case but are distinct from the findings of the court.
Banerjee was also a Bigg Boss contestant
Banerjee was a contestant on Bigg Boss 7, where she became friends with Kamya Punjabi. Their friendship continued after the reality show ended, and Punjabi remained publicly associated with discussions about Banerjee following her death.
The latest Bombay High Court ruling concerns the criminal proceedings against Rahul Raj Singh. The court’s decision should be understood in the context of the evidence and legal arguments considered in the proceedings rather than as confirmation of competing public claims made outside the courtroom.