The Supreme Court today (February 19) granted bail to filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari. His wife had been granted interim bail by the apex court on February 13. Both were in jail in an alleged Rs. 40 crore cheating case filed by Dr. Ajay Murdia. The complaint mentioned that Vikram Bhatt and his wife induced Dr. Murdia to invest Rs. 40 crore in films produced for him, for which they promised him high returns which never materialised.
Vikram and Shwetambari Bhatt had been arrested from Bombay by the Rajasthan police in December last year.
A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi set aside the Rajasthan high court’s order which denied bail to the Bhatts. While granting them regular bail, the apex court bench said that it expected the parties to make earnest efforts to settle the dispute through mediation. It observed that the case essentially was a dispute arising out of a commercial transaction. It directed the parties to appear before the Supreme Court Mediation Centre with a view to exploring the possibility of settling their payment dispute.