No chargesheet till next hearing: Kannada actor gets interim relief in cheating case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to Kannada actor Dhruva Sarja and directed the Mumbai Police not to file a chargesheet against him without the court's permission in a cheating case.

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad noted that the prosecution was seeking time as the investigating officer was out of station and even the complainant's lawyer Sanjeev Kadam was on his legs in another court.

A bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Rajesh S Patil had earlier directed Sarja, who is also known as Dhruva Kumar, to show his bona fide by depositing Rs 3.10 crore, which has been the bone of contention and reason for registration of the FIR.

Advocate Ashima Mandla, appearing for Dhruva Sarja, submitted they will not be depositing this amount. Mandla further argued that the case is civil in nature and that the FIR was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) while the allegations are from 2018.

The case was registered on charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust earlier this month. The complaint, filed by producer-director Raghvendra Hegde, alleges that the actor duped him of Rs 3.10 crore in connection with a film project that never materialised. With 18 per cent interest since 2018, Hegde claimed that his total loss has now escalated to over Rs 9 crore.

Sarja's plea was filed by advocates Mandakini Singh, Mohammad Faiz and Aryan Kotwal, who challenged the registration of the FIR as the transaction done in 2018, was for making of a film and an agreement too was drawn in 2019 at Bengaluru. No workable script, however, came about from Hegde.

Sarja's lawyers submitted there had been an agreement for the making of a movie pursuant to which a script was sent much later, in around December 2023. However, a similar film had been made because of which it was not viable. Later, on July 15 this year, Hegde allegedly sent a message stating that the financiers were threatening him about the money that had been paid.

Sarja had accepted that the money had been given, and he was not shying away from making the film, but the filmmaker should send a workable script on which a film could be made, he stressed. It is Hegde who has not sent any script for the actor to act on, stated Sarja's plea.

According to the FIR, Hegde, 52, a Mumbai resident and owner of RH Entertainment and R-9 Entertainment, alleged that Sarja had visited his Mumbai office and expressed interest in working with him. Between 2016 and 2018, Dhruva persuaded him to collaborate on the film ‘The Soldier’, even providing its script.

Hegde claimed Sarja demanded advance payment before signing the agreement, saying he needed the money to buy a flat, and assured him the film would start soon. However, Sarja did not work on the film and did not return the money either, because of which he had suffered financially.

- Ends