Madras High Court refuses to extend deadline given to actor Vishal to deposit ₹10 crore

The Madras High Court on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) refused to extend the time given to actor-producer Vishal to deposit ₹10 crore in the court, as it stayed the single judge’s order directing him to pay ₹57 crore to Lyca Productions as repayment of loan of ₹21.29 crore obtained by him in 2019 along with interest at the rate of 30% Was.

Justice CV Karthikeyan and Justice K. Another division bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice Mohammed Shafeeq had granted the interim stay on November 24, 2025, on the condition that Mr. Vishal Krishna Reddy, who had filed an appeal against the single judge’s June 2025 order, must deposit ₹10 crore in the appeal account within four weeks, a division bench of Kumaresh Babu said.

Subsequently, the actor had filed an application before the division bench on December 18, 2025, seeking eight weeks’ time to deposit the amount in the court. Since the court ordered notice to Lyca Productions on the application and adjourned the hearing on the case on a few occasions, the time sought by the actor had expired and the application had become infructuous.

Took loan for the film ‘Marudhu’ in 2016

Therefore, the judges refused to extend the time further and said, Lyca Productions can proceed with the execution petition filed before the single judge to implement the June 2025 judgment. Mr. Vishal had originally taken a loan of ₹21.29 crore from Ambuchezhiyan of Gopuram Films to make the film titled. Marudhu In 2016. Since the actor could not pay the dues, Lyca had taken a loan.

After paying the entire amount to Gopuram Films in different installments, Lyca got Mr. Vishal to sign an agreement on September 29, 2019, agreeing to repay the loan amount with 30% interest on or before December 31, 2020. However, since he did not honor the agreement, the production company filed a civil suit against him in 2021 to recover ₹30.05 crore, which included the principal amount as well as interest.

Justice PT Asha had adjudicated the case in June 2025 and ordered the repayment of the principal amount as well as the interest amount, which by then had totaled ₹57 crore. He refused to accept the actor’s argument that charging interest at the rate of 30% per annum by financiers in the film industry was unfair and against the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Charging Excessive Interest Act, 2003.

Then, the judge reminded that the High Court had refused to interfere with the 33% interest rate in the Indiabulls case (2010), and held that it would not violate the provisions of the 2003 Act. In that case, it was clearly held that the purpose of the 2003 Act was to protect innocent people who borrow small amounts of loans and not for huge loan transactions.

“In the present case, the defendant [Mr. Vishal] Have signed on the dotted lines agreeing to pay interest at the rate of 30% per annum. “After promising the plaintiff (Lyka) that the amount would be repaid with interest at the rate of 30% per annum, the defendant is now attempting to renege on its agreement,” Justice Asha had said.