The Bombay High Court said that disbursement of unpaid investor’s dues will proceed as per the May 13 judgment, but Mr. Kapoor bears no further liability for interest.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Bombay High Court has ruled that film producer Boney Kapoor is no longer liable to pay interest on ₹29 lakh in connection with a case under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act. The decision follows the acquittal of the main accused in a ₹57.7 crore deposit fraud dating back to 2003.
In a November 10 order made available on Tuesday (November 18, 2025), a Division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam C. Chandak observed, “At this stage, no liability can be fastened upon the appellant, as the main accused has been acquitted and in any case, the appellant has not abided by the directions issued under the impugned order of deposit of interest, as directed and we shall clarify that in the wake of the Judgment, he is no longer liable to make the payment of interest.”
The MPID Act, enacted in 1999, aims to protect investors from fraudulent financial schemes by enabling attachment of properties of defaulting entities.
In this case, the prosecution alleged that Ajay Amrutlal Thakkar and his wife Bhavana floated a financial institution, collected deposits from the public promising high returns, and defaulted on payments. The alleged fraud was pegged at ₹57.70 crore, and property worth ₹1.27 crore was seized for investor recovery. The case was registered in 2003 and investigated by the Crime Branch, CID.
On May 13, 2025, the MPID Court acquitted Bhavana Thakkar of all charges under Sections 406, 420, 114 of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the MPID Act, noting, “The evidence led by the prosecution was not sufficient to establish that accused Bhavana Thakkar was the promoter, partner, director, manager responsible for the management of or conducting of the business or affairs of the financial institution and even there was no material to show that she had promised any specified service against the said deposit, with an intention of causing wrongful gain for herself and to cause wrongful loss to the depositors.”
Mr. Kapoor, as proprietor of Narsimha Enterprises, was directed by the MPID Court on February 21, 2020, to pay simple interest at 18% per annum on ₹29 lakh from April 1, 2001, to December 27, 2019, within two months. The order was based on findings that Kapoor had borrowed ₹29 lakh from Ajay Thakkar and his firms, confirmed through his profit and loss account for the year ending March 31, 2001. Mr. Kapoor argued that the loan was settled by transferring a Mercedes Benz car to an intermediary.
Disposing of the appeal, the Bench said, “In the wake of the aforesaid, since the appeal now deserves a disposal subject to the directions in the Judgment dated 13/05/2025 i.e. as far as adjusting the amount of ₹29,00,000/-, which is already deposited, the appeal is disposed of.”
The court said that disbursement of unpaid investor’s dues will proceed as per the May 13 judgment, but Mr. Kapoor bears no further liability for interest.
Published – November 19, 2025 02:26 am IST
