The Delhi High Court has held Reliance Entertainment and its officials guilty of contempt for failing to comply with earlier court orders in a financial dispute with T-Series. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora ruled that the company had wilfully disobeyed previous directions requiring it to deposit payments owed to Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited, which operates the T-Series brand.
The court ordered three company representatives to undergo four weeks of simple imprisonment if the outstanding dues are not cleared within two weeks.
To allow Reliance Entertainment an opportunity to settle the matter, the Bench suspended the prison sentence for two weeks. However, the officials have been directed to appear before the Joint Registrar on March 16, 2026, and furnish bail bonds of Rs 1 lakh each with a surety of the same amount.
The court stated that if the payments are made within the two-week window, the prison sentence will be remitted and the bail bonds discharged.
The case stems from a loan agreement signed in 2021, under which T-Series lent Rs 168 crores to Reliance Entertainment to partially finance six films. As per the agreement, the music label was also entitled to interest at 12.5 percent along with a share of the revenue generated by the projects.
Subsequently, T-Series approached the court seeking recovery of around Rs 60 crores, alleging that Reliance Entertainment had defaulted on repayments. During earlier hearings in November and December 2023, the High Court directed Reliance Entertainment to disclose its receivables and deposit admitted amounts. These included Rs 7.42 crores expected from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Rs 2.32 crores linked to revenue from films such as IB-71 and Bholaa.
Court notes delay in payments
After reviewing the matter, Justice Arora observed that Reliance Entertainment failed to comply with the directions within the two-week deadline set by the court in December 2023. While the company eventually deposited Rs 2.32 crores in May 2025, the court held that the delay amounted to wilful non-compliance with its orders.
The Bench also noted that only Rs 4.29 crores of the Rs 7.42 crores receivable from Zee Entertainment had been received, leaving an outstanding shortfall of Rs 3.13 crores. As a result, the court directed the company and its officials to deposit the remaining amount along with applicable interest within two weeks. If the payment is made within the stipulated time, the sentence will be set aside. Otherwise, the three officials will have to undergo the four-week jail term, the court said.
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