Kerala court orders criminal case against producer who sued actor Nivin Pauly

A Kerala court has ordered the filing of a criminal complaint against film producer PS Shamnas for perjury, on finding that he made false statements to the court to get a cheating case registered against actor Nivin Pauly and director Abrid Shine in connection with distribution rights over the film 'Action Hero Biju 2' [Nivin Pauly v PS Shamnas].

Judge Archana K Babu at the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Vaikom, found that Shamnas had deliberately suppressed facts and made false statements under oath when he claimed in an affidavit that there were no pending legal proceedings between him and Nivin Pauly.

This statement is said to have been made in an affidavit Shamnas filed along with his application under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for a police investigation in the cheating case.

The court found that a commercial dispute was already pending before the commercial court in Ernakulam, and an injunction order had also been passed against Shamnas in the matter.

This contradicted Shamnas' alleged statement that there were no other legal disputes between him and Pauly.

The court opined that, prima facie, Shamnas had committed fraud on the court to get an FIR registered against Nivin Pauly.

"The giving of false evidence amounts to practicing of fraud upon the court ... it was manifest that the respondent (Shamnas) had intentionally made a false statement or declaration when he was under a legal obligation to speak the truth in a judicial proceedings," the court held in its January 12 order.

The court added that such conduct undermined the authority of the judicial system and that filing such a false affidavit would attract criminal liability.

It, therefore, ordered the filing of a formal complaint against Shamnas under Section 379 of the BNSS for offences punishable under Sections 229 (false evidence), 236 (false declaration receivable as evidence) and 237 (using false declaration as true) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

A plea filed in the matter by Pauly is listed next on March 12, 2026, for further consideration.

The fraud case filed by Shamnas involves allegations that he was cheated by the makers of Nivin Pauly-starrer Action Hero Biju 2 when they allegedly sold the film rights to a Dubai firm for ₹5 crores without his consent, despite a prior agreement that he would produce the film.

Shamnas claims that he had invested around ₹1.9 crore in the film and was promised official producer status and a share in profits.

Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered against Pauly and Shine under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Following the registration of the case, Nivin Pauly and director Abrid Shine approached the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the FIR.

The High Court granted an interim stay on the trial proceedings in August last year, which was later extended after mediation efforts failed.

The matter was briefly heard by the High Court today as well, when Justice CS Dias further extended the interim stay.

Advocates T Sukesh Roy and Meera Menon appeared on behalf of actor Nivin Pauly before the trial court.