Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case: Family FIR vs. Rhea Chakraborty and Interstate Jurisdictional War

On June 14, 2020, Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment. Initially investigated by Mumbai Police as a suicide, the case escalated when Sushant's father, K.K. Singh, filed an FIR in Patna, Bihar on July 25, 2020, accusing actress Rhea Chakraborty of abetment to suicide and financial fraud. This triggered a fierce jurisdictional war between Bihar Police and Mumbai Police, culminating in a Supreme Court battle. The Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Parallel probes by the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau led to Rhea Chakraborty's arrest on drug-related charges, though she was later granted bail. The CBI investigation remains ongoing.

In August 2020, the Supreme Court of India upheld the validity of the Patna FIR and ordered a CBI investigation, directing the Mumbai Police to cooperate. Rhea Chakraborty was arrested by the NCB in September 2020 in a related drugs case and was released on bail in October 2020. The CBI has not filed a final closure report, and the primary death investigation remains technically unresolved.

The central dispute was whether the Patna FIR was valid and which state had the legal jurisdiction to investigate the death. It raised critical constitutional questions on the extraterritorial powers of state police and the transfer of investigations. Additional disputes included whether Rajput's death was a straightforward suicide or a case of abetment, and the extent of the alleged drug nexus involving the accused.

The case triggered an unprecedented media frenzy and polarized public discourse in India around mental health, nepotism in Bollywood, and trial by media. It exposed deep political rivalries, with the federal government and Maharashtra state clashing over investigative jurisdiction. The case also led to heightened scrutiny of the entertainment industry's alleged drug culture and sparked nationwide debates on the criminalization of third-party relationships in abetment to suicide laws.