Last week, the Allahabad High Court rejected Bollywood choreographer and film director Remo D'Souza's petition to quash a cheating case from 2016.

The single headed bench of Justice Rajeev Misra's dismissed the plea, observing that D'Souza had not contested the chargesheet filed against him. As a result, the court could not grant the relief he sought.

“Having heard the learned counsel for applicant, the learned A.G.A. for State and upon perusal of record, this Court finds that the charge sheet dated 25.9.2020 submitted against applicant has not been challenged in the present application. In the absence of any challenge to the charge sheet, no relief as prayed for by means of present application can be granted,” the Court observed in its order as it dismissed his plea.

The case against D'Souza dates back to 2016, when an FIR was filed against Ghaziabad businessman Satyendra Tyagi. The FIR claimed that D'Souza had encouraged Tyagi to invest Rs 5 crore to finance his film 'Amar Must Die,' promising a return of Rs 10 crore after the film's release. However, Tyagi alleged that D'Souza did not fulfill this promise.

The FIR, filed under Sections 420, 406, and 386 of the IPC, also alleged that when the businessman sought the promised money, D'Souza intimidated him by having underworld don Prasad Pujari contact him and issue threats.

In October 2020, a court of A.C.J.M. III, Ghaziabad, took cognizance of the offense. D'Souza then approached the High Court to challenge the cognizance order and seek a stay on the proceedings. However, the High Court dismissed his petition after the state counsel noted that D'Souza had not contested the chargesheet in the case.

Counsel for Appellant: Vijit Saxena  
Counsel for Respondent: Akash Tyagi, G.A., Pankaj Kumar Tyagi, Satyendra Kumar Singh.

Case title – Remo D Souza v.s State of U.P. and Another 2024