Prominent filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and members of his production team are set to receive major legal relief as Rajasthan Police decided to submit a closure report in a cheating case related to his upcoming movie Love & War. Following an extensive investigation into allegations concerning local production arrangements, law enforcement authorities found insufficient evidence to substantiate criminal charges against the named accused. Consequently, police officials prepared a negative final report proposing to drop further proceedings against Bhansali and his associates.
Bikaner Police Findings and Closure Report Proceedings
The investigation conducted by the Bichhwal police station in Bikaner concluded that there was inadequate material to proceed with a trial against the accused individuals. In legal terms, submitting a negative final report signifies that the investigating agency did not discover adequate proof to prosecute the named suspects in a court of law. The matter will now be reviewed by the competent trial court, which holds the judicial authority to accept the police closure report or issue alternative instructions regarding the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan High Court declined to grant further relief on a petition filed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, along with production manager Utkarsh Bali and Arvinder Gill, who had approached the court seeking to quash the registered case. The High Court bench observed that given the current developments and the police decision to file a closure report, it saw no reason to intervene in the ongoing process. However, the court explicitly granted liberty to the petitioners to place all their legal arguments and factual submissions before the trial court at the appropriate stage.
Line Producer Prateek Raj Mathur's Allegations and the Initial FIR
The origin of this legal controversy dates back to September 1, 2025, when an official First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at the Bichhwal police station in Bikaner against Bhansali and two production team members. The complainant, Prateek Raj Mathur, serves as the founder of a film production and hospitality company offering line-production logistics in Rajasthan. The case was registered under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 318(4) for cheating, Section 61(2) for criminal conspiracy, Section 352 for intentional insult, and Section 351(2) for criminal intimidation.
According to the complainant's statement in the FIR, production manager Utkarsh Bali contacted him in November 2024 with a proposal to hire him as the line producer for the upcoming feature film Love & War. Mathur was allegedly instructed to organize security details, local logistics, and site management for the production team's scheduled trip across Rajasthan. Mathur stated that he immediately commenced operational arrangements based on these discussions and incurred substantial personal expenses.
However, Mathur alleged that the production management subsequently awarded the line-producer contract to another individual without informing him. He further claimed that when he demanded reimbursement for his pending dues and operational costs, members of the production team subjected him to verbal hostility and threats.
Bhansali's Defense and the Financial Dispute Arguments
Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Utkarsh Bali, and Arvinder Gill firmly denied all claims made by Mathur, maintaining that no official agreement had ever been executed. Defense counsel argued before the court that interaction with Mathur was purely preliminary and exploratory in nature, aimed at evaluating potential options for the movie's Rajasthan leg.
The petitioners also contested Mathur's claim of having spent nearly 2 lakh rupees, asserting that any such expenditures were undertaken independently without their authorization or approval. Bhansali's team emphasized that the disagreement was essentially a commercial dispute rather than a criminal offense. The feature film Love & War, which stars leading actors Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, and Alia Bhatt, had attracted significant media attention following the dispute. The submission of the police closure report now marks a decisive step toward clearing Bhansali and his team of all criminal allegations.
