Bengaluru court rejects Latha Rajinikanth plea for discharge in Kochadiyaan movie cheating, forgery case

A Bengaluru court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Tamil superstar Rajinikanth's wife Latha Rajinikanth to quash charges of cheating, forgery and perjury against her in connection with the losses she incurred from her 2014 Tamil film Kochadiyaan..Judicial Magistrate Jyothi Shantappa Kale rejected Latha Rajinikanth’s plea to cancel the charges, stating that there was enough initial evidence to continue with the trial. The court stated that Latha had not presented any substantial evidence to demonstrate that the allegations were false.“It is contended that, the accused has done all the fraud and perjury to escape the legal payment. The fact that she is the sole beneficiary of the letter is enough ground to impose criminal liability,” the order stated..The case stems from a financial dispute between Ad Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd and Media One Global Entertainment, the production company behind Kochadaiiyaan, directed by Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth.The ad bureau had reportedly invested around ₹10 crore in the film and later accused Latha Rajinikanth, who had given a personal guarantee on behalf of the production company, of failing to ensure repayment after the film’s commercial performance fell short of expectations..Latha Rajinikanth approached the Bengaluru City Civil and Sessions Court in 2014 seeking an injunction to restrain media outlets from publishing stories about her. Ad Bureau Advertising later filed a private complaint alleging that Latha Rajinikanth had used a forged letterhead in the name of a non-existent organisation Publishers and Broadcasters Welfare Association of India, Press Club, Bangalore to obtain the restraining order.Latha Rajinikanth had asked the court to dismiss the case, saying that the issue was only a civil dispute about money and that she had not forged any document. However, the magistrate said there was enough evidence to hold a full trial and rejected her request for discharge.With this order, the trial will now proceed against her on charges of forgery, cheating and giving false evidence under the Indian Penal Code on November 11..[Read Order]