SC grants bail to filmmaker Vikram Bhatt in ₹30-crore investment scam case

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday granted bail to filmmaker Vikram Bhatt in a multi-crore cheating case registered in Rajasthan. The court also regularised the interim bail earlier granted to his wife, Shwetambari Bhatt.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant , along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi , observed that the parties should attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation and explore an amicable settlement.

Shwetambari Bhatt had been granted interim bail on February 13. Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court had rejected the bail applications of both accused on January 31. The couple was arrested in Mumbai in December last year and brought to Udaipur for investigation.

The case is based on a complaint filed by Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira IVF and Fertility Centre, who alleged that the Bhatts induced him to invest more than ₹30 crore in a biopic on his late wife, promising high financial returns. The complaint accused them of misappropriating the funds by preparing fake bills and transferring money to their personal accounts instead of using it for film production.

Apart from Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Udaipur-based Dinesh Kataria and Bhatt’s manager Mehboob Ansari were also arrested in the case on December 7, 2025. The FIR includes charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Vikram Bhatt is a well-known Hindi film director and producer, best known for popular thrillers and horror films such as Raaz , 1920 , and Haunted . He has been active in the Indian film industry for over two decades and is credited with reviving the horror genre in mainstream Bollywood.

The investigation in the case is continuing.