The Rajasthan High Court has rejected bail pleas of filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt in an alleged Rs. 30 crore cheating and misappropriation case.
The Rajasthan High Court on Saturday rejected the bail applications of filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, his wife Shwetambari Bhatt and two other accused in a cheating and criminal breach of trust case linked to an alleged Rs. 30 crore fraud.
Justice Vinod Kumar Bharwani observed that granting bail at this stage would not be appropriate.
Court cites ongoing investigation
As per PTI, during the hearing, the
Special Public Prosecutor opposed the bail pleas, stating that the investigation was still underway and that further custodial interrogation of the accused was required.
The prosecution argued that releasing the accused on bail could lead to influencing of witnesses and hamper the probe.
Allegations by complainant Ajay Murdia
The case stems from a
complaint filed by Indira IVF and Fertility Centre founder Ajay Murdia, a Udaipur resident, who accused Vikram Bhatt, Shwetambari Bhatt and others of cheating and criminal breach of trust.
According to the complaint, funds taken in the name of a film project were allegedly misappropriated. It has been alleged that fake bills were prepared under different names to facilitate money transfers from the complainant. The funds, meant for film production, were allegedly diverted into personal accounts and used by the accused.
Arrests and case timeline
An FIR in the matter was registered in November 2025. Police arrested Vikram Bhatt, his wife, Udaipur-based Dinesh Kataria and Bhatt’s manager Mehboob Ansari from Mumbai on December 7 and brought them to Udaipur for further investigation.
Defence denies allegations
Bhatt’s lawyer Kamlesh Dave contended that the police action was based solely on the FIR and not supported by documentary evidence.
He argued that all payments were made with the knowledge of both parties and denied the existence of fake or bogus bills. The defence claimed that the agreement was to produce two films initially, followed by two more on a rolling finance basis.
Earlier plea to quash FIR rejected
Vikram Bhatt had earlier approached the Rajasthan High Court seeking quashing of the FIR, arguing that the dispute was civil in nature and arose from contractual disagreements.
However, the high court rejected the plea, observing that the matter was not merely a civil dispute but prima facie involved misappropriation of funds. The
court had then allowed the police investigation to continue.
Vikram Bhatt in deep legal trouble
Earlier,
another case was registered against Bhatt and his daughter Krishna involving allegations of cheating a businessman of Rs. 13.5 crore. According to the FIR registered at Versova Police Station, the businessman alleged that Bhatt and his daughter induced him to invest Rs. 13.5 crore in film projects and other ventures, promising high returns that were never delivered.
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