After HC dismissal, Mane plans criminal case in ₹40 lakh feud
Vidnyan Mane says Bombay HC dismissed Palash Muchhal’s defamation plea over a ₹40 lakh film dispute; he now plans criminal proceedings.
Actor-producer Vidnyan Mane says he is shifting from defence to offence in his fight with music composer Palash Muchhal. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Mane said he will soon begin “necessary and appropriate judicial as well as criminal proceedings” after the Bombay High Court dismissed a defamation case Muchhal had filed against him.
What the Bombay High Court ruling means
Mane, a childhood friend of India women’s cricket captain Smriti Mandhana, said the defamation plea was dismissed on procedural grounds rather than on the strength of the allegations. “No one is above the law, and compliance with judicial procedures is mandatory for everyone,” he added.
Muchhal’s legal team did not respond to a request for comment. A procedural dismissal usually means the court did not test the truth of the claims; it leaves room for the underlying dispute to return in a different legal form.
The ₹40 lakh film investment at the centre
The conflict became public in January 2026, weeks after Muchhal and Mandhana called off their wedding in December 2025. Mane said he invested ₹40 lakh in Muchhal’s film Nazaria after the two met in Sangli in December 2023. He said the money was transferred by March 2025, the film was not completed, and his investment was not returned.
Mane also made personal allegations against Muchhal, which the composer denied. Muchhal sent Mane a ₹10 crore defamation notice before filing the case that Mane says has now been dismissed.
What happens next
Mane said his next step is about setting the record straight, not just winning a court order. “I intend to bring before the public the various fabricated and imaginary stories that he has narrated so far, and expose how people are being misled,” he said.
For readers tracking celebrity legal fights, the sequence shows how one money claim can move through multiple legal tracks:
- Procedural dismissal: a case can be rejected for how it was filed, not for what it claimed.
- Defamation notice: Muchhal had sought ₹10 crore before moving to court.
- Criminal complaint: Mane now says he will initiate his own proceedings through lawful channels.
The wider watchpoint is whether Muchhal returns with a fresh defamation claim or whether the ₹40 lakh investment dispute moves fully into a criminal complaint. Either way, the court has not yet ruled on who is right about the money.
Source: Hindustan Times
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