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SC asks Rajinikath’s wife to approach trial court for clean chit in cheating case
The Supreme Court turned down Latha Rajinikanth’s plea to exonerate her in the 2015 case and told her to seek discharge from the trial court or face trial
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Latha Rajinikanth, wife of actor Rajinikanth, to approach the trial court for quashing of cheating and forgery charges against her in a criminal case filed by a Chennai-based advertising company in 2015.
A bench of justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh turned down Latha’s plea to exonerate her in the case, stating that she could either seek a discharge from the trial court or face trial. The bench cited a 2018 order of the Supreme Court, holding that proceedings against Latha could not be nixed without an assessment of the charges against her by the trial court.
“In view of the earlier order passed by this court on July 10, 2018, the only way open to the petitioners is either to file an application seeking discharge or to face the trial...We make it clear that if such an application is filed on behalf of the petitioner(s), the findings rendered under the impugned order will not stand in the way, and the trial court is directed to consider the same on its merits and in accordance with law,” the bench said in its order.
The top court, however, added that Latha need not remain present before the trial court in Bengaluru unless otherwise directed.
In 2015, Chennai-based Ad Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd lodged a private complaint in a Bengaluru court, accusing Latha of filing a suit in a civil court by allegedly producing a fabricated document and getting a temporary injunction against the company and various media houses from making any statement against her in relation to a financial dispute.
The temporary injunction was related to a financial dispute between Ad Bureau and Mediaone Global Entertainment Limited, which produced Tamil film Kochadiiyaan, starring Rajinikanth and Deepika Padukone. The movie was also the directorial debut of Rajinikanth’s younger daughter Soundarya.
Ad Bureau alleged that Latha didn’t honour her alleged personal guarantee given to it on behalf of Mediaone to make good the loss from the film, and this issue was widely reported in the print and electronic media.
In March 2016, the Karnataka high court quashed the complaint, stating that it was a result of a civil dispute and there was no ingredient for the offences alleged against Latha. But in 2018, the Supreme Court allowed the continuation of criminal proceedings, and the Bengaluru police filed a charge sheet against her.
In March 2021, a Bengaluru trial court took cognisance of various offences against her based on a charge sheet that accused her of cheating and forgery. After Latha challenged this order, the high court in August last year quashed charges of cheating, giving a false statement and using evidence known to be false levelled against her but allowed the continuation of proceedings on the charge of allegedly fabricating a document.
Both Latha and Ad Bureau challenged the high court order in the Supreme Court, which restored the Bengaluru police charge sheet in the wake of its 2018 order that said the complainant (Ad Bureau) had a “triable” issue and that a trial court was thus required to apply its mind.
