Bengaluru court rejects Latha Rajinikanth’s plea for discharge in ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ forgery case
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Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court has dismissed a plea filed by actor Rajinikanth’s wife, Latha Rajinikanth, seeking discharge in a criminal case linked to alleged forgery in connection with the 2014 film Kochadaiiyaan.
In an order dated September 27, the 48th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate ruled that Latha has not made out any justifiable ground to discharge her from the alleged offences and observed that a prima facie case existed to proceed against her.
The case stems from a long-running financial dispute over payments due to a production house involved in Kochadaiiyaan, which was directed by Latha’s daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth. During the dispute, Latha reportedly obtained a gag order from a Bengaluru court to stop media outlets from reporting on the issue, allegedly using a letter from a non-existent organization.
In 2015, Chennai-based Ad Bureau Advertising Private Limited filed a private complaint accusing Latha of using forged documents to secure the injunction order, which on December 2, 2014, barred nearly 70 media houses from reporting on financial disputes related to the film.
The company alleged that Latha had filed a false affidavit before the civil court to obtain the order, preventing media coverage of a cheating case it had filed against her. Her civil suit was later dismissed on December 13, 2015, on grounds of “territorial jurisdiction”.
The complainant argued that Latha’s actions amounted to offences under Sections 196 (using evidence known to be false), 199 (false statement made in a declaration), and 463 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code.
Following an investigation, Halasurugate police filed a chargesheet on February 27, 2021, which the magistrate took cognizance of.
Although the Karnataka High Court partially quashed proceedings against Latha in August 2022, the Supreme Court reinstated the charges through an order dated October 10, 2023.
With the latest ruling, the court has found sufficient grounds to proceed with the prosecution.