SC seeks CBI reply on Bengali film producer's bail plea

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the CBI on a plea by Bengali film producer Shrikant Mohta who was arrested in January 2019 for his alleged role in the Rose Valley Ponzi scheme.

Mohta, the co-founder of Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt Ltd (SVFPL), is accused of embezzling crores of rupees under the pretext of producing films by entering into an agreement with Brand Value Communications Ltd (BVCL), a sister concern of the Rose Valley Group.

His bail has been declined thrice reportedly by the HC.

A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Hemant Gupta issued a notice to the CBI on a plea by Mohta challenging the validity of the Orissa High Court's order of December 1.

The top court sought a response from the investigating agency by January 4 after hearing senior advocates Kapil Sibal and K V Vishwanathan appearing for Mohta.

According to the CBI, the Rose Valley Group of companies collected a huge amount of money from the public by enticing them with false promises of paying higher rates of interest. The Rose Valley cheated the public as it didn't have any authorization from the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board of India for carrying out such activities.