The Punjabi film industry has been rocked by a ‘financial fraud’ orchestrated on an investor by none other than the renowned Punjabi film director Smeep Kang of ‘Carry on Jatta’ fame. The issue, which stems from the production of the 2007 Punjabi film ‘Chakk De Phatte’, has resulted in serious allegations of breach of trust, cheating and non-compliance against Kang. The charge against Kang is being led by a prominent business magnate of Chandigarh -Devinder Sandhu, who is a Senior Director of the famous WWICS Group.
“Nearly two decades after I entered into a financial arrangement in 2007 with Smeep Kang, an outstanding liability that originally related to an agreed payment of ₹1.70 crore has now ballooned to approximately ₹10 crore, due to continued non-payment by Kang,” said Sandhu while addressing a press conference here today.
The press conference assumes significance in light of the aggressive promotion of the upcoming Smeep Kang Directed Punjabi film- ‘Carry on Jatta 4’ – though Smeep has been regularly directing films and making earnings, he has failed to pay a single paisa to Sandhu. In-fact on the contrary he has cunningly presented a bleak picture of his financial situation to avoid payment of dues.
Sandhu alleged that despite obtaining an arbitration award in his favour, which was subsequently upheld by both the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court, he is yet to receive the amounts due to him. Sandhu stated that the prolonged delay in payment has caused the liability to rise substantially and that execution proceedings seeking enforcement of the award are currently underway.
Sandhu revealed that he was approached by Smeep Kang in March 2007 for financial support to produce the Punjabi feature film ‘Chakk De Phatte’. Under the arrangement, Sandhu invested ₹1.10 crore and was assured a return of ₹1.70 crore through scheduled payments. An agreement dated May 16, 2007 was executed to formalise the arrangement.
According to Sandhu, despite the agreed payment obligation of ₹1.70 crore, he did not receive any payment. Sandhu added that he was instead unscrupulously excluded from the film’s ownership and revenues.
Sandhu told the media that an arbitration award was delivered on July 25, 2019 in his favour. The award directed Kang to pay ₹1.70 crore towards the principal claim, interest at the rate of 15 per cent per annum with effect from April 1, 2009, ₹2 crore as compensation and ₹5 lakh towards arbitration costs. The award was subsequently upheld by both the Punjab & Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court. Despite these legal findings and the passage of nearly 20 years since the original transaction, Sandhu alleges that the dues remain unpaid, with the outstanding liability now estimated at around ₹10 crore.
Sandhu said that continued non-compliance with court-recognised financial obligations can carry serious legal consequences. He pointed to the case of Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav, who faced imprisonment in connection with the non-fulfilment of financial obligations, to underscore that prolonged failure to honour legally enforceable liabilities can ultimately result in coercive legal action, including imprisonment. Sandhu maintained that either the outstanding liability of approximately ₹10 crore should be cleared or the legal process should be allowed to take its course.
Notably, an application seeking Kang’s civil imprisonment in execution proceedings has also been filed on the ground that despite suffering adverse orders up to the Supreme Court, the awarded amount remains unpaid.
“My only demand is that the lawful dues be paid. If they are not, the legal consequences prescribed under law should follow,” concluded Sandhu.
