The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari Bhatt, in a cheating case where they’re accused of owing ₹30 crore. Their advocate remarked in court that ‘everybody’ cannot be put in jail in the case before being granted bail after the proceedings.
Supreme Court grants Vikram Bhatt, Shwetambari bail
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered the release of Vikram and Shwetambari from Udaipur jail on Friday, according to PTI. They asked the Chief Judicial Magistrate to pass the bail order delineating the terms and conditions. The court also issued notices to the complainant, Ajay Murdia, the founder of Indira IVF and Fertility Centre, a resident of Udaipur, and to the Rajasthan government for February 19 in the matter.
In court, advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing Vikram and his wife, said, “He cannot put the director, his wife, everybody in jail. What is going on?” to which the opposing counsel argued that ‘it’s no so simple’ as it’s a ₹30 crore fraud case. However, Bar and Bench posted that the bench remarked that ‘these cases’ cannot be used to recover money. The court stated that Vikram and Shwetambari are being released on interim bail, subject to bail bonds. Ajay is ordered to be impleaded as a respondent.
Vikram Bhatt and Shwetambari’s arrest
Vikram and Shwetambari were arrested in Mumbai, brought to Udaipur in December 2025, and have been in jail since December 7. Usaipur-based Dinesh Kataria and Vikram’s manager Mehboob Ansari were also arrested by the Rajasthan police. On January 31, the Rajasthan High Court rejected their bail application, observing that granting bail to the accused would ‘not be appropriate’.
Ajay filed a complaint of cheating and criminal breach of trust against Vikram, Shwetambari and others. He alleges that funds to the tune of ₹30 crore were taken in the name of a film project and misappropriated. He also accused them of creating fake bills under various names to get money from him. Vikram and others have been accused of depositing the money into their own accounts and using it.
In January, a businessman filed a complaint that the filmmaker and his daughter, Krishna Bhatt Sarda, had cheated him out of ₹13.5 crore. The case was registered at the Versova police station in Mumbai. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) reportedly took charge of the investigation.
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