The Supreme Court on Thursday granted regular bail to filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt in a cheating case involving an alleged investment of over Rs 30 crore in a proposed biopic. The couple had been arrested by the Rajasthan Police in Mumbai in December 2025 and were lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail.
The latest order overturns a Rajasthan High Court decision that had earlier refused them bail. The relief was granted by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi.
While allowing the plea, the court observed that the dispute appeared to have its roots in a commercial transaction, even though the FIR invoked criminal charges such as cheating. The bench said the matter would be more appropriately addressed through mediation and asked both sides to appear before the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to attempt a settlement of the payment dispute.
The case is based on a complaint filed by Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira IVF, who alleged that the Bhatts persuaded him to invest more than Rs 30 crore in a biographical film on the life of his late wife with assurances of high returns that were not realised.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for the Bhatts, told the court that the agreement between the parties involved the production of four films. He submitted that two films had already been completed and the third was around 70% ready.
He argued that Vikram Bhatt's continued custody would make it impossible for him to finish the projects and raise the funds required for their completion.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing Murdia, did not oppose the grant of bail for the purpose of mediation, though he referred to a separate cheating case registered against Bhatt in Mumbai and raised concerns about the financial condition of his production company.
In response, the defence maintained that the funds were being raised to complete the agreed film projects.
The Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Shwetambari Bhatt last week. With Thursday's ruling, both have now secured regular bail. The court said it expected the parties to make sincere efforts toward an amicable resolution through the mediation process.
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