The Sushant Singh Rajput case: a complete timeline, 2020–2025

The death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020 led to one of the most closely followed investigations in India’s recent history, involving the Mumbai Police, three central agencies, the Supreme Court and several High Court cases. This timeline sets out what happened, based on official statements, court orders and reports by established news organisations.

This article reports the findings of investigating agencies and courts. Allegations made by any party are described as allegations; they have not been proved in court. Last reviewed: October 2026.

June 2020: the death and the first inquiry

• 14 June 2020 — Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead at his home in Bandra, Mumbai. The Mumbai Police registered an accidental death report and began an inquiry.
• Late June 2020 — The post-mortem report concluded that he had died by suicide and found no signs of foul play. Over the following weeks the Mumbai Police recorded statements from family members, staff and people from the film industry.

July–August 2020: a second FIR and the CBI

• 25 July 2020 — His father, K. K. Singh, filed a First Information Report (FIR) in Patna, Bihar, against actor Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput’s partner, and others. The complaint alleged offences including abetment of suicide, cheating and criminal breach of trust. Those named denied the allegations.
• Late July 2020 — The Enforcement Directorate opened a money-laundering inquiry into the financial allegations in the FIR.
• 5–6 August 2020 — The central government accepted the Bihar government’s recommendation for a CBI investigation, and the CBI registered a case.
• 19 August 2020 — The Supreme Court upheld the transfer of the investigation to the CBI and directed the Mumbai Police to cooperate.

August–October 2020: the drugs case and the forensic review

• 26 August 2020 — The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) registered a separate case under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, based on messages found during the Enforcement Directorate’s inquiry. This case concerned alleged drug purchases, not the cause of death.
• September 2020 — The NCB arrested several people, including Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik. Rhea Chakraborty also filed a complaint against two of Rajput’s sisters, which became the subject of separate court proceedings.
• Early October 2020 — A medical board from AIIMS, New Delhi, set up at the CBI’s request to review the evidence, concluded that the death was a suicide and ruled out murder and poisoning.
• 7 October 2020 — The Bombay High Court granted bail to Rhea Chakraborty in the NCB case, observing that she was not part of a drug-trafficking chain. Her brother was granted bail later.

2021–2024: court proceedings continue

• 18 January 2021 — The Bombay High Court, ruling on petitions about media coverage, said some television reporting of the case had amounted to a “media trial” and issued guidelines for reporting on investigations. (See our article on the media trial.)
• March 2021 — The NCB filed a chargesheet in its drugs case against more than 30 people. That case has not concluded, and no court has convicted anyone in it.
• February 2024 — The Bombay High Court quashed look-out circulars that had been issued against Rhea Chakraborty and members of her family.

March 2025: the CBI closure report

• 22 March 2025 — The CBI filed closure reports in two cases: the FIR lodged by Rajput’s father and the complaint filed by Rhea Chakraborty against his sisters. According to reports of the findings, the agency concluded that there was no evidence of foul play or of abetment, and found nothing to support the allegations against the persons named.
• After March 2025 — Rajput’s family said it would challenge the closure report and file a protest petition, describing the report as incomplete. In October 2025 the family’s lawyer said the agency had not yet provided all the documents the family needed to do so.

Where things stand

Under Indian law, a court must decide whether to accept a closure report, order further investigation or take other action, and the complainant has the right to object. At the time of our last review, the court proceedings on the CBI’s closure report had not reached a final decision, and the NCB’s separate drugs case was also pending. We will update this timeline when there are significant developments.

Sources and further reading

This timeline is based on court orders and reporting by national news organisations, including coverage of the CBI closure report and the Bombay High Court judgments. For more about the actor’s life and films, see our profile of Sushant Singh Rajput and our article on his career.