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Palash Muchhal has filed a defamation suit against Vidnyan Mane, who accused him of cheating over a film investment. The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained Mane from making defamatory comments.
Composer Palash Muchhal has taken legal action after actor-producer Vidnyan Mane's fresh allegations. According to Muchhal’s lawyer, Shreyansh Mithare, Mane claimed he had lent ₹40 lakh to Muchhal for film production.
Vidnyan Mane approached the police last month. The Sangli resident alleged that Palash Muchhal had cheated him of ₹40 lakh. The composer allegedly persuaded Mane to invest in a film project that never progressed. Muchhal allegedly failed to return the money.
In response, Muchhal filed a civil suit, seeking damages and a permanent injunction to stop what he described as “defamatory” statements against him and his family.
Muchhal has denied the claims and issued a defamation notice for ₹10 crore. The composer has demanded that Mane clarify his statements in court on 11 March.
His lawyers, Siddesh Bhole and Shreyansh Mitare, told the court that the matter was essentially a commercial dispute between two parties.
They argued that Mane’s public comments referred to an alleged incident on 23 November 2025, the day Muchhal was scheduled to marry cricketer Smriti Mandhana. The remarks harmed the reputation of both the composer and his relatives, the lawyers alleged.
Justice Milind Jadhav observed that the alleged pre-wedding incident appeared unrelated to the financial dispute. The wedding reference should not influence the case ahead, he noted.
"There was a controversy about Palash Muchhal's wedding earlier... A third party, Vidyan Mane, has created a new controversy, claiming he lent ₹40 lakh to Palash. He said that Palash took ₹40 lakh from him under the pretext of producing a film,” Palash Muchhal's lawyer Shreyansh Mithare told ANI.
“He also made allegations about Palash's wedding. We sent him a defamation notice for ₹10 crore. He will have to give clarification in the court on 11th March. An investigation should be conducted on why Vidyan Mane is doing this," Mithare added.
What did Mane say?
“I was at the wedding celebrations when he was caught red-handed with another woman in bed. Bhayanak scene tha (It was horrible), he was beaten up by the Indian female cricketers,” Vidnyan Mane told HT.
“The entire family is chindi chor. I thought he’d get married and settle in Sangli, but it has completely backfired on me.” Mane said.
“When I met his mother (Amita Muchhal) last month, she said the budget to release the movie has now increased to ₹1.5 crore. They asked me to invest another ₹10 lakh, or I wouldn’t get any money back. They started blackmailing me and threatened to throw me out of the film, thus I was forced to file a complaint,” the actor-producer added.
Bombay High Court order
The Bombay High Court has meanwhile restrained Mane from making further defamatory comments. Justice Milind Jadhav earlier observed that Mane’s public remarks about Muchhal’s now-cancelled marriage to cricketer Smriti Mandhana were "prima facie insinuating and per se defamatory".
"The defendant (Mane) is restrained from making any further references and insinuations of the kind and nature attacking the plaintiff (Muchhal) and his mother, which are made in the said interviews, which are prima facie defamatory," PTI quoted the court statement as saying.
The court order, dated 11 February and released on 13 February, provides temporary relief to Muchhal. Further hearings will determine the outcome of the case.
After perusing the interview transcripts, the court noted that the comments were "prima facie insinuating and per se defamatory".
"There is direct insinuation of the family of the plaintiff (Muchhal)," HC said.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on March 11.
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