Delhi HC sentences Reliance Entertainment officials to 4 weeks in jail for contempt of court in T-Series case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday held Reliance Entertainment Studios Private Limited and its officials guilty of contempt for failing to comply with court orders in a financial dispute with music label T-Series [Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited v Reliance Entertainment Studios Private Limited]. 

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora ruled that Reliance Entertainment had wilfully disobeyed earlier court directions requiring it to deposit certain payments owed to Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited, which operates the T-Series brand. 

The Bench ordered the three company representatives to undergo four weeks’ simple imprisonment if the dues are not cleared within two weeks.

“To enable the aforesaid opportunity, the prison sentence shall remain suspended for two [2] weeks. However, to secure the appearance of Respondent Nos. 1 to 3, they are directed to appear before the Joint Registrar (J) on 16.03.2026 for furnishing bails bonds in the sum of ₹1 lakh with one surety of the same amount. If the payment as directed above is deposited within two [2] weeks, the prison sentence shall be remitted and the bail bonds will be discharged,” the Court said. 

The dispute arises from a 2021 loan agreement under which T-Series lent ₹168 crore to Reliance Entertainment to partly finance six films. The agreement also entitled T-Series to interest at 12.5 per cent and a share of revenue from the projects.

T-Series later filed a suit seeking recovery of about ₹60 crore, alleging that Reliance had defaulted on repayments. During earlier proceedings in November and December 2023, the High Court directed the company to disclose receivables and deposit admitted amounts, including ₹7.42 crore expected from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and ₹2.32 crore linked to revenue from films such as IB-71 and Bholaa.

After considering the case, Justice Arora said that Reliance Entertainment failed to comply with the directions within the two-week deadline set in December 2023. While the company eventually paid the ₹2.32 crore in May 2025, the court held that the delay constituted wilful non-compliance. 

It also noted that only ₹4.29 crore of the ₹7.42 crore had been received through payments routed from Zee Entertainment, leaving a shortfall of ₹3.13 crore.

Therefore, the Bench ordered the company and its officials to deposit the rest of the money along with interest within two weeks. If the amount is paid, the prison sentence will be remitted. Otherwise, the three officials will serve the four-week jail term, the Court underscored. 

Senior Advocate Amit Sibal with advocates Harsh Kaushik, Darpan Sacheva, Srishti Mishra, Harsh Prakash, Saksham Dhingra and Vinay Tripathi appeared for Super Cassettes. 

Reliance Entertainment was represented through Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal as well as advocates Malvika Kapila Kalra, Tanwangi Shukla, Junaid Aamir, Harbani S and Apoorva Jain.

[Read Order]