The Supreme Court has agreed to list a plea seeking restoration of criminal charges against Latha Rajinikanth in an alleged cheating case pertaining to the Tamil film Kochadaiiyaan.

A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and JB Pardiwala on Tuesday directed that the matter will “not be deleted” on September 8, when the special leave petition will come up for hearing. 

The petition was filed by Chennai-based Ad Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd challenging a Karnataka High Court order, which quashed the cheating case against Latha on September 8.

The case pertains to the 2014 Tamil film Kochadaiiyaan starring Kollywood superstar Rajinikanth, which was directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth and bankrolled by Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd. Ad Bureau Advertising was the post producer of the film while Rajinikanth’s wife Latha Rajinikanth stood as the guarantor to the producer.

According to the complainant, Abirchand Nahar, MD of Ad Bureau has invested ₹10 crore in the project as the post producer towards an entitlement of 20 per cent of collection rights in the Tamil Nadu market and 12 per cent commission. 

However, the advertising company alleged that the movie producer Mediaone Global Entertainment failed to honour the financial commitments. It also alleged Latha had failed in her obligation as the guarantor for the producer when the film went into losses and for diverting money paid to her for the post-production towards other purposes, causing wrongful loss to the complainant. 

On August 2, 2022, the Karnataka High Court granted partial relief to Latha, by quashing the cases for cheating and giving false evidence against her. However, the High court maintained the forgery cases against her. 

In 2018, the Supreme Court had set aside the order of the Karnataka High Court quashing the FIR in the same dispute. The Apex court said the High Court should have allowed the trail to progress. 

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