Bengaluru court rejects Rajinikanth’s wife’s plea seeking discharge in ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ case

In 2015, a Chennai firm had filed a complaint alleging that Latha Rajinikanth used forged documents to get an injunction barring media houses from reporting on financial disputes linked to ‘Kochadaiiyaan’.

By: Express News Service

Bengaluru | October 15, 2025 02:41 PM IST

2 min read

During the financial dispute, Latha sought a gag order from a Bengaluru court on the reporting of the issue in the media by citing a letter issued by an allegedly non-existent organisation. (Express Photo)

A Bengaluru court last month dismissed an application by actor Rajinikanth’s wife, Latha, seeking a discharge in a criminal case involving alleged forgery related to the 2014 film Kochadaiiyaan, noting that she “has not made out any justifiable ground to discharge her from the alleged offences”.

The 48th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate also observed on September 27 that there exists a prima facie case to proceed against the accused.

A criminal case against Latha arose out of a dispute over financial dues payable by her to a film production house for Kochadaiiyaan, which was directed by her daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth. During the financial dispute, Latha sought a gag order from a Bengaluru court on the reporting of the issue in the media by citing a letter issued by an allegedly non-existent organisation.

In 2015, Chennai-based firm Ad Bureau Advertising Private Limited filed a private complaint alleging that Latha used forged documents to obtain the injunction. The injunction, dated December 2, 2014, barred approximately 70 media houses from reporting on financial disputes connected with Kochadaiiyaan.

The complainant alleged that Latha filed a false affidavit before the civil court, thereby defrauding it to secure the media gag order. The company claimed this prevented reportage on a cheating case it had filed against her regarding the film.

Latha’s civil suit was dismissed on December 13, 2015, over “territorial jurisdiction” issues. The complainant argued this constituted 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 the investigation, the Halasurugate police filed a chargesheet on February 27, 2021, which the magistrate took cognisance of.

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While the Karnataka High Court partially quashed proceedings against Latha on August 2, 2022, regarding certain offences, the Supreme Court restored those charges through an order dated October 10, 2023.

The court has now found sufficient grounds to proceed with prosecution against the accused.

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