Rajasthan HC rejects bail pleas of Vikram Bhatt, wife Shwetambari Bhatt and 2 others in Rs 30 crore fraud case

JODHPUR: The Rajasthan High Court Saturday dismissed the bail applications of filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, his wife Shwetambari Bhatt, and two others involved in an ongoing investigation into a high-profile case involving nearly ₹30 crore in alleged fraud. The ruling was delivered by Justice Vinod Kumar Bharwani, who emphasised that it would not be appropriate to grant bail at this juncture.

During the court hearing, the special public prosecutor opposed the bail requests, highlighting that the investigation is still in progress and further interrogation of the accused is necessary. The prosecutor argued, "If the applicants are released on bail at this stage, they may influence witnesses; therefore, the bail applications should be rejected."


The case against Vikram Bhatt and his wife centers on allegations of substantial financial misconduct. The couple is accused of creating fraudulent invoices under various aliases and transferring money from the complainant's account intended for film production into their personal accounts for personal use.

Prior to the bail hearing, Bhatt had filed a petition in the high court aimed at quashing the FIR, arguing that the matter was a civil dispute rather than a criminal one. However, the high court countered this claim, stating that the situation involved misappropriation of funds, thus extending the police investigation.

The allegations first came to light when an FIR was filed on Nov 17, 2025, at the Bhupalpura police station in Udaipur. Entrepreneur Dr Ajay Murdia, who is the owner of the Indira Group of Companies (Indira IVF), lodged a complaint asserting that he was a victim of cheating and criminal breach of trust, claiming that the funds drawn in the name of a film project were misused by Bhatt, his wife, and others involved. Following the complaint, Vikram and Shwetambari were taken into custody in Dec last year.