Karnataka HC drops 3 charges against Latha Rajinikanth in Kochadaiiyaan case

The case against Latha Rajinikanth was filed by an advertising company over alleged non-payment for the 2014 film ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ after the film flunked at the box office.
Latha Rajinikanth
Latha Rajinikanth
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In partial relief to superstar Rajinikanth’s wife Latha Rajinikanth, the Karnataka High Court quashed most of the charges against her in a financial dispute case. The case quashed three out charges — cheating, giving false statement, and using evidence known to be false

The petition was filed by an advertising company over payments for the 2014 film Kochadaiiyaan after the film flunked at the box office. A single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna quashed three of the four charges which were filed against Latha Rajinikanth by the Bengaluru police last year. 

As per a LiveLaw report, charges were filed against her under Sections 196 (using evidence known to be false), 199 (false statement made in declaration which is by law receiva­ble as evidence), 420 (cheating) and 463 (forgery) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code). The Karnataka High Court in its order from August 2, held that the court is barred from taking cognisance for offences under Sections 196 and 199. The court sustained the charges under Section 463 (forgery), as punishable under Section 465 (punishment for forgery) of the IPC.

The complainant, an advertising agency called Ad Bureau, reportedly loaned Rs 10 crore to production house MediaOne Global for the production of the film Kochadaiiyaan. The amount was lent when the film — directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth — faced a cash crunch during production. Latha Rajinikanth signed as the guarantor for the loan, but when the film went into losses, the complainant alleged that Latha Rajinikanth failed to honour the agreement.After the film released in 2014 and incurred losses, Ad-Bureau moved the Supreme Court two years later alleging that Latha had not repaid Rs 6.2 crore to them.

In 2015, Bengaluru police filed an FIR against Latha Rajinikanth over allegedly submitting fake documents in a Bengaluru court, to ensure that a media gag order was issued. This gag order was obtained by Latha in 2014 against 95 media publications in the country. She had approached the court for a temporary injunction against any reports related to herself or her family with regards to allegations made by Ad Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd in the financial dispute case.

The temporary injunction was obtained by Latha after her counsel filed a letter printed with the letter head ‘Publishers and Broadcasters Welfare Association of India’. However, the Press Club of Bangalore later confirmed in a letter to Ad Bureau that the Publishers and Broadcasters Welfare Association of India had no connection to it, and did not exist under its banner. Following this development, Ad Bureau had filed a private complaint in a magistrate court in Bengaluru, accusing Latha of producing a fabricated document.

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