Kerala High Court Quashes Film Producer's ₹1.9 Crore Cheating Case Against Nivin Pauly, Abrid Shine; Notes Settlement

The Kerala High Court on Monday (October 26) quashed the crime registered against Malayalam film actor Nivin Pauly and director Abrid Shine at the instance of producer P.S. Shamnas alleging commission of fraud of ₹1.9 crore. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 601]

The Court also quashed the criminal case initiated against Shamnas alleging forgery of Nivin's signature in documents submitted to the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce.

Justice P.V. Balakrishnan noted that a settlement was reached between the parties and that they no longer had any grievances against each other. 

"On going through the materials on record and the submissions made at the Bar, I am of the view that the petitioner and the 2nd respondent have amicably settled the disputes which led to the registration of the crime. It also shows that the offences alleged against the petitioner are not serious in nature and do not have a serious impact on society. That apart, I am of the view that no purpose will be served in continuing with the prosecution since, the chances of the petitioner getting convicted are bleak," the Court observed.

A criminal case was registered against Nivin and Abrid under Sections 406 [Punishment for Criminal breach of Trust] and 420 [Cheating] read with Section 34 [acts done by several person in furtherance of a common intention] of the Indian Penal Code, based on a complaint by P.S. Shamnas, proprietor of Indian Movie Makers at Thalayolaprambu Police Station, Kottayam.

Shamnas alleged that after the box office failure of 'Mahaveeryar'—in which he had invested ₹3.5–4 crore—the accused promised him a co-producer role in 'Action Hero Biju 2' and overseas rights profits. He claims the accused later concealed title transfer details and used an outdated agreement to sell the film's overseas rights to a Dubai-based company for ₹5 crore, causing him wrongful loss.

Nivin made a private complaint before the Magistrate against Shamnas alleging forgery of his signature by the latter. A crime was registered by the Palarivattom Police Station, Ernakulam alleging offences under Sections 465 [Punishment for forgery] ,471 [Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record] IPC. Shamnas had also moved the High Court to quash the crime registered against him.

Since a settlement has been reached between the parties, which the public prosecutor confirmed to be bona fide, the Court was of the view that the crimes against all three can be quashed. Thus, it allowed all the pleas. 

Advocate Millu Dandapni appeared for Nivin Pauly. Advocates S. Rajeev, V. Vinay, M.S. Aneer, Sarath K.P., Anilkumar C.R., K.S. Kiran Krishnan, Dipa V., Akash Cherian Thomas, and Azad Sunil represented Abrid Shine.

Shamnas was represented by P. Vijayabhanu (Sr.), S. Mohammed Al Rafi, Thajuna Maria Francis

Devadas H. Mallan - Public Prosecutor appeared for the State.