Did film producer forge phone call records of a financier, judge and court staff?: Madras High Court orders police inquiry

The Madras High Court has directed Chennai cyber crime cell to conduct an inquiry and ascertain whether a film producer had created fake call records related to the phone numbers of a film financier, a judicial magistrate and a court staff or whether those call records had been genuinely obtained from telecom companies.

Justice Sunder Mohan directed the Inspector of Police, Cyber Cell to complete the inquiry within a month and file a report before the court by February 26. The orders were passed on a criminal revision petition filed by Chennai based financier Gagan Bothra against the producer J. Sathish Kumar of JSK Film Corporation.

The petitioner told the court Mr. Kumar, who had produced national award winning movies Thanga Meenkal and Kutram Kadithal as well as popular commercial movies including Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara and Taramani, had been having financial transactions with him since 2015.

When some of the cheques issued by the producer, towards part payment of his liabilities, bounced due to lack of funds in the bank account; the financier initiated proceedings against the producer under the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 before a Fast Track Court at George Town in Chennai in 2017.

In 2023, the producer urged the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court to transfer the cheque bounce case from the fast track court to some other court. In support of the transfer petition, he had reportedly filed phone call records of the financier, the fast track court magistrate and a court employee.

Stating he was shocked to find his phone call records and also that of others having been obtained by the film producer from two telecom companies without the consent of the individuals holding those phone numbers, the financier said, such an act was against Section 72 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Arguing the case in person, the financier also told Justice Mohan though he had lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime police as early as on October 9, 2023, the police had so far not registered a First Information Report under the Information Technology Act as well as other criminal provisions.

He said, even a Metropolitan Magistrate in Saidapet had refused to issue a direction to the police to register a FIR and hence he had approached the High Court by way of the present revision petition.