Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari were arrested in an alleged Rs 30 crore fraud case. Now, the couple has been granted bail by he Supreme Court. The couple was arrested at their Mumbai residence on December 7 last year. A complaint was filed against them by a Udaipur-based doctor, alleging that he had been defrauded of crores by the director on the promise of making a film with his money. The couple was taken to Rajasthan after their arrest where the complaint was registered.
Vikram Bhatt and his wife get bail
Observing that the case essentially stemmed from a commercial transaction between the parties, a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) set aside the Rajasthan High Court’s January 31 order, which had rejected the couple’s bail pleas.
The Bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, expressed hope that both sides would make genuine efforts towards an amicable settlement and directed them to appear before the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to explore resolution of the payment dispute.
“The regular bail has been granted with the expectation that the appellants will try and make efforts for the amicable resolution of the dispute,” the apex court said.
Last week, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Shwetambari Bhatt and directed that she be released forthwith, subject to her furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udaipur.
The interim relief was granted by the CJI Kant-led Bench while issuing notice on the special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Rajasthan High Court’s refusal to grant bail.
Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court had declined bail to Vikram Bhatt, his wife and another accused, observing that release at that stage would be inappropriate as the investigation was still underway.
About the fraud case
An FIR for a Rs 30 crore fraud was registered in Udaipur in November, against eight people, including Vikram Bhatt and Shwetambari Bhatt. The complaint claimed that the couple had lured Dr Murdia with a promise of Rs 200 crore earnings. The investigation is currently being handled by the Bhopalpura police.
According to the police report, Dr Ajay Murdia, who is owner of Indira IVF Hospital, filed a complaint against Bhatt, his wife, their daughter Krishna (resident of Andheri West, Mumbai), Dinesh Kataria (Saheli Nagar, Udaipur), Mehboob Ansari (producer, Thane), Mudit Butattan (Delhi), Gangeshwar Lal Srivastava (DSC Chairman), and Ashok Dubey (General Secretary, Federation of Western India Cine Employees, Mumbai).
Dr Murdia claimed that he wanted to produce a biopic about his late wife and hence approached Dinesh Kataria for assistance. On the suggestions of Kataria, Dr Murdia visited Vrindavan Studio in Mumbai on April 25, 2024, where Kataria introduced him to Vikram Bhatt. Bhatt allegedly assured him that an investment of Rs 7 crore could generate four films with a projected return of Rs 100-200 crore.
During the meeting, the Raaz filmmaker said he would handle all filmmaking work. He also asked Dr Murdia to send money accordingly. Bhatt also mentioned that his wife and daughter were involved as associates in the project. Notably, Bhatt has registered a firm, VSB LLP, in his wife Shwetambari Bhatt’s name.
Notably, in 2025, Vikram Bhatt-directed Tumko Meri Kasam, starring Anupam Kher, Ishwak Singh, Adah Sharma, and Esha Deol in lead roles, was released. The film was inspired by the life of Dr Ajay Murdia, the founder of Indira IVF.
