Fugitive Mehul Choksi on Saturday sent a legal notice to Sunil Shetty and Anurag Kashyap alleging their upcoming film File no. 323 defames him.
Choksi’s lawyer Ayush Jindal has mentioned in the notice that his client "has already been defamed by the baseless allegations and stories that have been routed through the news media regarding his alleged involvement in a “financial scam” and “File No. 323” continues to allege misdeeds on the part of my Client, despite the fact that no court of law has reached a final adjudication upon his involvement in the matter."
Choksi has sent a 'Cease and Desist' notice to the producers and director of the film, which is reportedly inspired by the lives of India's alleged financial fugitives like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi.
As per the notice, the proposed movie is part of a “mala-fide, vicious and vexatious campaign to tarnish the reputation of my Client by linking him to alleged frauds committed by Mr.
Nirav Modi and lumping my Client in the same category as Mr.
Vijay Mallya”
The lawyer noted that Choksi, who has been accused of various crimes in India, is yet to be proven guilty as the cases are under investigation or standing trial by and before various authorities and/or courts.
Choksi’s lawyer also pointed out that his client has already faced considerable disparagement following the release of the documentary titled ‘Bad Boys Billionaires’ in September 2022, which is available on OTT platform Netflix. “Litigation in respect of the same is pending before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in Mehul Choksi v. Union of India, LPA No. 230 of 2020,” the notice read.
Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of the promoter group of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi. Both of them are facing charges of defrauding state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than Rs 14,000 crore.
In an interview with media outlet Pinkvilla, actor Shetty in response to the allegations said, “I am playing the auditor of a large chartered accountant firm, who probably knows more about the financials than anyone one. A notice has come from Mehul Choksi, and I don’t know where that has come from. The director and producers are making something from whatever is available in the public domain, so the whole thing of him being defamed is funny.”
