Jaipur: The Supreme Court Friday granted interim bail to Shwetambari Bhatt, wife of filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, in connection with an alleged multi-crore rupee cheating case registered against the couple in Rajasthan. The Bhatts are currently lodged in Udaipur Central Jail following their arrest from Mumbai in Dec last year.A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the bail order while issuing notice to state govt on a petition filed by the couple challenging the denial of bail by the Rajasthan High Court. The matter is posted for further hearing on Feb 19.Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi and Siddhartha Dave, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that “the dispute arose out of a failed film project and was given a criminal colour. The complainant wanted films to be made about himself, and the commercial failure of the projects could not amount to cheating”.“Both movies flopped. It is not my fault. They cannot put the director and his wife in jail,” Rohatgi argued.The counsel for complainant Ajay Murdia opposed the bail plea, stating the case involved cheating amounting to nearly Rs 30 crore. Additional advocate general Shiv Mangal Sharma, representing Rajasthan govt, also opposed the bail plea, saying the state should be granted time to reply to the notice. “Until the state files its reply, no interim bail should be granted,” he argued.The bench, however, questioned whether “criminal proceedings” were being used as a “means to recover money”. It directed that Shwetambari Bhatt be released on interim bail forthwith.The court also made Ajay Murdia, owner of Indira IVF and linked to Indira Entertainment, as a respondent in the matter.The case stems from a complaint filed by Murdia in Udaipur alleging that Vikram Bhatt and his wife induced him to invest over Rs 30 crore in a biopic on his late wife, promising substantial returns that allegedly never materialised.Following the complaint, the couple was arrested by Rajasthan police from Mumbai in Dec last year and remanded to custody.
