Tunisha Sharma Case: Lawyer opposes suicide abetment charge against Sheezan Khan; allows in-camera hearing

Tunisha Sharma Case Update: A sessions court in Maharashtra allowed a prosecution plea for an in-camera hearing on the bail application of television actor Sheezan Khan, arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of his co-star Tunisha Sharma late last year. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Sanjay More said he moved the plea before Additional Sessions Judge SM Deshpande at Vasai in Palghar district seeking an in-camera hearing of the bail application.

The court allowed the prosecution plea, informed More. In-camera proceedings are private, unlike open court proceedings, and aim to ensure the parties' protection and privacy. General citizens and the media are excluded from witnessing the proceedings.

The SPP moved the plea after a lawyer representing the jailed TV actor argued in favour of bail for his client and contested the abetment of suicide charge slapped on him. More opposed the bail plea of Khan, who was in a relationship with the late artist and subsequently broke up with her, and said there was a certificate from a doctor that says Tunisha Sharma was suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Lawyer Sharad Rai, appearing for the 28-year-old actor, said the section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment of suicide), under which the police have booked Khan, does not apply in the case. Conviction under the section attracts a jail term up to ten years.

There was no relief for Sheezan Khan, arrested in late December, as the next hearing on the plea has been scheduled on March 2 when the prosecution will continue its arguments. Rai also submitted that since probe in the case has been completed and a chargesheet filed, the accused should be released on bail.

On February 16, the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police filed a 500-page chargesheet against Khan. Sharma (21) allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself on December 24, 2022, on the sets of a TV serial near Valiv in Palghar district on Mumbai's fringes. Khan was arrested the next day on a complaint of her mother. The actor is currently in jail under judicial custody.