India's top probe agency will take over the investigation against late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Priyanka after the country's top court dismissed her plea.
The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that all police complaints (First Information Reports) related to Sushant's death would only be investigated by the federal investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Priyanka had approached the country's top court, challenging a Bombay High Court ruling, ordering that she be investigated over a complaint filed by Rhea Chakraborty, the late actor's former girlfriend. Sushant was found hanging at his Mumbai flat last June.
The court, however, quashed proceedings against another of Sushant's sisters, Meetu Singh, who was also named as an accused in the aforementioned complaint.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde simply said, "We are not inclined to entertain. Dismissed".
But on 15 February, the Bombay High Court said the investigation against Priyanka would continue.
"There is prima facie case found against Priyanka Singh and there should not be any impediment against [an] investigation against her", the Bombay High Court had said.
On 7 September 2020, Rhea, one of the main accused in Sushant's suicide case, filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police against his sister Priyanka Singh, Dr Tarun Kumar of Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and several others.
The complaint was for forgery under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, and the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines 2020.
In her complaint, Rhea alleged that Sushant was given a "bogus and unlawful prescription" by his sister, which led to his death.
The complaint was based on chat messages exchanged between the late Sushant and Priyanka from 8 June 2020, a week before the actor was found dead on 14 June.
The chat indicated that Priyanka had advised her brother to take three medicines -- Librium, Mexito, and Lonazep -- which are prescribed for depression and anxiety but cannot be bought over-the-counter.
Meanwhile, three federal investigative agencies, the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), are looking into different angles in the actor's death.
Sushant's father K.K. Singh had approached the Bihar state police accusing Rhea, her parents, and brother of playing a possible role in abetting Sushant's suicide and taking money from his account.
The CBI was tasked with investigating the case by the Supreme Court of India on 19 August 2020, after Rhea approached the court to seek transfer of the case from Bihar Police to Mumbai Police. Sushant was originally from Bihar but was living in Mumbai.
Simultaneously, the ED registered a money laundering case based on Singh's complaint.
During the ED's probe, evidence of purchasing, possessing, and using cannabis was found after which the Narcotics Control Bureau also joined the case.