Hearing in Roshans' case deferred till Friday

MUMBAI: The dispute between actor Hrithik Roshan and Jayantilal Gada, managing director of Popular Entertainment Network, could be headed for an out-of-court settlement.
Counsels for both the parties agreed on Monday to initiate negotiations on Wednesday. The Khar police, meanwhile, continue to be restrained from arresting the Roshans till Friday in four criminal cases of cheating and breach of trust.
The interesting turn to the case was the fallout of a suggestion made by Justice V M Kanade of the Bombay High Court while hearing four petitions filed by Hrithik Roshan and his father Rakesh Roshan challenging a lower court order.The judge suggested that in cases where the dispute is, prima facie, civil in nature, counsels on both sides should try and sit together to sort out the matter. The counsels accepted the suggestion and planned to meet on Wednesday.
Counsels Ashok Mundargi, Dipesh Mehta and S V Marwadi representing the Roshans argued that a civil dispute was being treated as a criminal one by Gada. Gada had accused the Roshans and their company Film Kraft productions (India) of cheating by backing out of an agreement. On his complaint, a magistrate in Bandra in May directed the Khar police to register and investigate the criminal case.
Justice Kanade adjourned the matter to Friday to enable Gada to file an affidavit. Gada''s counsel A Y Sakhare informed the court that there are now six complaints against the Roshans, including two where Hrithik''s maternal grandfather producer J Omprakash is also an accused.
Aggrieved by the lower court order, the Roshans had moved the high court to quash criminal proceedings against them and restrain Khar police from arresting them. Gada''s counsel A Y Sakhare however argued that the court could not hear different pleas together in one petition.
He said plea for an anticipatory bail and quashing of a first information report cannot be decided together. But Justice Kanade asked him whether there was any statutory bar on the court from doing that.
About two years ago Film Kraft had entered into several agreements with Popular Entertainment for film merchandising and home viewing rights of Kaho Na Pyar Hain and other home productions of the Roshans.
Gada''s company alleged that despite creating a market for Hrithik, the Roshans backed out from the contract and began contacting parties directly instead of going through them. The Roshans contended that the agreement was terminated for breach of contract.
The Roshans said the complaint against them was frivolous and harmed their reputation in the film industry.