Rajinikanth’s wife Latha to face trial for fraud: SC

CHENNAI: Actor-politician Rajinikanth’s wife Latha Rajinikanth will have to face trial in a fraud case after she failed to pay dues to the tune of Rs. 6.20 crore to advertising firm Ad Bureau. The Supreme Court today said investigations will be made into the case against her and she will be put on trial after a chargesheet has been filed.

The dispute started in 2014 over the movie “Kochadaiiyaan”, starring Rajinikanth and Deepika Padukone, which was the directorial debut of Rajinikanth’s younger daughter Soundarya.

A loan of Rs. 10 crore was taken from the firm for the postproduction work for the Rs. 125crore film. The firm later went to court, alleging that Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd, in which Latha Rajinikanth was a director, had defaulted on payment and Rs. 6.2 crore remained pending.

Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd was to refund Rs. 10 crore along with Rs. 1.2 crore promised as “guaranteed profit”. The firm also said they had got involved with the project on Latha Rajinikanth’s personal guarantee.

The Karnataka High Court, however, cancelled legal proceedings against Latha Rajnikanth, saying the case was not of fraud but breach of agreement. The Supreme Court set aside that order, saying the High Court should not have cancelled the complaint at the initial stage.

In February, the top court ordered that the balance payment be made within three months. Latha Rajanikanth assured the court that the dues will be cleared.