Actor Salman Khan has seemingly found himself in a legal soup once again. A Chandigarh district court has reportedly issued notices to actor Salman Khan, his sister Alvira Khan Agnihotri and the directors of Style and Content Jewellery Pvt Ltd with reference to a cheating complaint. The complaint was allegedly linked to a Being Human jewellery showroom in the Manimajra region. The court has further directed all the accused to appear and file their replies to the allegations on October 5.
About the complaint
According to The Tribune, a private criminal complaint was filed by Chandigarh-based businessman Arun Gupta, who claimed that he was convinced to invest in the showroom based on false assurances of strong business prospects. Subsequently, he suffered losses running into several crores.
According to NDTV, Gupta invested nearly Rs 3 crore through an agreement with Style and Content Jewellery Pvt Ltd, the company licensed to market Being Human jewellery. Arun alleged that around Rs 1 crore was spent on setting up the showroom, adding that he had fulfilled all contractual obligations required under the agreement.
Gupta, in his complaint, alleged that he opened a showroom for Being Human Jewellery in Manimajra, NAC. According to an agreement with Style Quotient Private Limited, Mumbai, he was expected to display the company’s jewellery at his showroom. Gupta added that he was told that Salman Khan would promote the showroom on his reality show Bigg Boss and that he would also inaugurate the premises.
Based on these assurances, he reportedly spent Rs 50 lakh on renovating the showroom and another Rs 1 crore on purchasing stock. However, Salman’s brother-in-law Aayush Sharma attended the inauguration in November 2018 instead of the superstar. He also claimed that the showroom from where he was expected to collect goods has remained locked since February 2020, due to which he suffered huge financial losses. He further alleged that even though he registered a complaint with the police, no action was taken.
Notably, the company has earlier denied the allegations, claiming that Salman Khan had no direct involvement in the 2018 agreement with the businessman. It also added that the jewellery business was operated independently by Style and Content Jewellery Pvt Ltd under a brand licensing arrangement.
Chandigarh Court to hear the matter on October 5
In its order passed on August 4, the court reportedly noted, “The right to a prior hearing under Section 223 of the BNSS is a procedural safeguard rooted in the principles of natural justice and fair trial. The accused must be given the benefit of this procedural safeguard even in complaints filed before the enforcement of the BNSS but taken cognisance of afterwards.”
The matter has been scheduled before the Chandigarh district court on October 5, wherein Salman Khan, Alvira Khan Agnihotri and the directors of Style and Content Jewellery Pvt Ltd are expected to appear.
