- Supreme Court granted interim bail to Shwetambari Bhatt in a multi-crore fraud case
- Vikram Bhatt and his wife were arrested by Rajasthan Police in December and jailed in Udaipur
- The court will hear Vikram Bhatt's bail plea next Friday
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Shwetambari Bhatt, wife of jailed film director Vikram Bhatt, in a multi-crore fraud case, terming her arrest "unfortunate."
Both Vikram Bhatt and his wife are currently lodged in a central jail in Udaipur following their arrest by the Rajasthan Police in December. The court will consider Vikram Bhatt's bail plea on next Friday.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on a petition filed by the couple challenging the Rajasthan High Court's order denying them bail.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that the Rajasthan Police had travelled to Mumbai to arrest the couple from their residence. He urged the bench to grant at least interim relief to Shwetambari Bhatt at this stage.
Opposing the plea, counsel for the complainant Ajay Murdia said the case involved alleged cheating of Rs 44 crore.
During the hearing, the bench questioned why criminal proceedings were being used to recover dues.
"Unfortunately, they have not sought quashing of the FIR," Chief Justice Surya Kant observed. The bench also questioned the choice of Rajasthan as the jurisdiction in the case, calling it "very unfortunate."
Mr Rohatgi argued that the complainant had wanted films to be made on his life and that both projects had failed commercially. "Both movies flopped. It is not my fault. You can't put the director and his wife in jail for that," he submitted.
When the respondent's counsel argued that it cannot be presumed that a woman would not commit a crime, the Chief Justice remarked, "You want us to release both of them on bail?"
The top court directed that Shwetambari Bhatt be released on interim bail forthwith.
The court also impleaded Ajay Murdia, owner of Indira IVF and former Indira Entertainment LLP, Udaipur, as a respondent in the matter. The case will be heard next Wednesday.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Mr Murdia, who alleged that the Bhatts induced him to invest over Rs 30 crore in a biopic on his late wife, promising high returns that did not materialise.