Delhi HC refuses to grant producer Kumar Mangat Pathak relief in financial fraud case related to Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2 | Bollywood
Producer Kumar Mangat Pathak has failed to get any relief from the Delhi High Court in a case of financial fraud against him, linked to the overseas rights of the Ajay Devgn film Drishyam 2. The court disposed of the plea filed by Pathak on Thursday.
What is the allegation?
The case concerns allegations of a ₹4.3 crore fraud involving the Chinese-language distribution rights of the film across China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The FIR, which was filed in June 2025, accuses Pathak, Bharat Sevak, and others of conspiracy, document forgery, and misrepresentation of rights.
The Delhi High Court has disposed of a plea filed by Kumar Mangat Pathak, seeking to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against him concerning the financial fraud case related to
Pathak, Director of M/s Panorama Studios, which produced the film, approached the court to quash the FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), contending that the matter was purely commercial in nature and had been wrongly criminalised. His legal team argued that he had already cooperated with the investigation and was exploring parallel legal remedies.
The court quashes Pathak’s petition
However, Justice Neena Krishna Bansal refused to keep the petition pending or grant any interim protection. The court observed that the investigation is still in its early stages, and noted that since the petitioner had already joined the probe, no interference was warranted at this point.
The Drishyam 2 fraud case
A Delhi-based businessman had alleged that he was misled into investing ₹4.3 crore in the Ajay Devgn film based on forged documents. He claimed he was promised exclusive Chinese distribution rights for Drishyam 2 through a deal presented by Bharat Sevak, who introduced himself as an authorised representative of Panorama Studios
Sevak claimed to have transferred ₹15.75 crore out of a total transaction value of ₹16.40 crore, Panorama Studios has denied receiving the funds
Pathak submitted evidence stating that any authorisation given to Sevak was limited, and had expired well before the alleged agreement. Panorama Studios had issued a public notice, warning third parties against unauthorised claims made by Sevak.
About Drishyam 2
Released in 2022, Drishyam 2 was directed by Abhishek Pathak, Kumar Mangat’s son, and is a remake of Mohanlal’s Malyalam film of the same name. The film starred Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav, and Rajat Kapoor. It was a big box office success, earning over ₹340 crore on a ₹70-crore budget.
(With ANI inputs)
