Company Law Board to levy monetary penalty on Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment

MUMBAI: The Company Law Board is set to levy a monetary penalty on Red Chillies Entertainment, owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, for failing to file balance sheets and annual returns with the Registrar of Companies for the past four years. The Company Law Board (CLB) can impose a fine of up to Rs 7.5 lakh on the film production and distribution company, which agreed last year to pay the penalty after admitting to the violation.

A Red Chillies official confirmed the company’s proposal to pay the monetary penalty. He also said lawyer BV Dholakia is representing the company on this matter.

Last May, the superstar and his wife Gauri Khan, directors of Red Chillies, filed a petition with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) proposing to pay a monetary penalty for not complying with the rules. The RoC examined the case and has forwarded the petition with its report to the CLB, which has the right to levy the penalty. The case will be heard on Friday before CLB member Kanthi Narahari.

Under current norms, a maximum of Rs 500 per day of delay can be imposed on defaulters. Once the independent quasi-judicial body imposes a fine, the directors and the company have to immediately remit the amount, which is then deposited with the Consolidated Fund of India.

Such violations routine

Founded in 2002, Red Chillies has produced several movies, including My Name is Khan, Chak De India and Om Shanti Om. Its forthcoming venture is Ra.one, said to be the most expensive Bollywood movie. The company is also the promoter of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.

Following the controversy over the ownership of Kochi IPL franchise, investigating authorities have been looking into the shareholding structure of all IPL franchises. In the Kochi IPL franchise, one of the investors was Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Shashi Tharoor, who was forced to give up his ministership over allegations that he had misused his official position.

The IPL controversy also resulted in the suspension of its commissioner Lalit Modi. “This (failing to file balance sheets within the prescribed timeline) happens frequently and defaulters are usually granted a reasonable compounding,” said a corporate lawyer with a leading law firm.