NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a non-bailable warrants issued by a Bengaluru court against Superstar Rajinikanth's wife Latha in a case of alleged forgery by her to obtain injunction by a civil court.
A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and M M Sundresh issued notice to the Karnataka government on her plea challenging the High Court's order of August 2 allowing criminal proceedings against her.
Senior advocate N Sathyanarayana, appearing for Latha, submitted the NBW was issued against her by the Bengaluru court on September 19.
"It is directed that the Court shall not give further effect to the non-bailable warrant until further orders of this Court," the bench said.
The court decided to examine her petition challenging the validity of the Karnataka High Court's order of August 2, 2022 allowing criminal proceedings against her to continue for the offences of forgery.
The High Court had partly allowed her petition by quashing an order by the city court of March 27, 2021 taking cognisance of the offences under Sections 196, 199 and 420 of the IPC.
The proceedings in the matter had its genesis in a private complaint by AD-Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd in that they had ventured in the post-production of the 2014 film 'Kochadaiiyaan', which was produced by Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd, on Latha's personal guarantee and had funded Rs 10 crore for it. She was a director of the production company.
Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd was required to refund Rs 10 crore plus Rs 1.2 crore being the "guaranteed profit", but the amount was not refunded.
It was alleged in 2014 the petitioner filed a suit to obtain an injunction against media houses for publication of news against her and family members. It was further alleged she used a non-existent document to invoke territorial jurisdiction of Bengaluru court in the matter.
The Bengaluru's court had on March 27, 2021 taken cognisance of the offences in the FIR lodged against her on June 9, 2015.
[Read Order]
