Published Sep 23, 2026 | 11:56 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 23, 2026 | 11:56 AM
Veteran actresses Radha and Ambika
On September 21, veteran actor Radha created a flutter by lodging a complaint with the Chennai Police Commissioner alleging that her sister and actor Ambika and their brother Mallikarjunan Kunjan Nair, referred to as Arjun Nair in court records, attempted to encash five old, signed blank cheques belonging to her for a total amount of more than ₹50 crore.
According to the complaint submitted to the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner, Radha received an alert from IDBI Bank on 17 September informing her that five cheques, together totalling more than ₹50 crore, had been presented by Ambika for encashment.
Radha alleged that the cheques were among old signed blank cheques kept at her residence and that they were taken without her permission. She has further alleged that Mallikarjunan filled in the cheques and that he and Ambika acted together in attempting to use them.
In her complaint, the yesteryear actor alleged that the attempted encashment was meant to meet Mallikarjunan’s nearly ₹9.85 crore penalty in proceedings against him under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
What is this case against her brother? How did the ₹9.85 crore penalty arise?
South First breaks it all down.
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According to a Madras High Court judgment dated 17 September 2025, adjudication proceedings were initiated against Mallikarjunan Nair and others by the Special Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Chennai.
The proceedings culminated in an adjudication order dated 16 October 2019. The adjudicating authority imposed a penalty of ₹9,85,30,000 on Mallikarjunan Nair. Separate penalties were also imposed on the other persons involved in the proceedings.
The matter subsequently reached the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA in New Delhi. Nair’s appeal was registered as FPA-FE-95/CHN/2019.
The Tribunal’s records identify the case as involving Mallikarjunan alias Arjun Nair and others, with an amount of ₹10.40 crore appearing against the case. The Madras High Court, however, specifically records the penalty imposed on Nair as ₹9.853 crore.
The later proceedings before the High Court primarily concerned the conditions attached to Nair’s appeal, rather than the underlying factual details of the 2019 adjudication order.
Under Section 19 of FEMA, an appeal against a penalty is subject to a pre-deposit requirement. The Tribunal can dispense with or reduce the requirement in cases of undue hardship.
Nair sought a waiver of the pre-deposit, citing financial difficulties. On 9 January 2025, the FEMA Appellate Tribunal directed him to deposit 10% of the penalty imposed on him. This amounted to ₹98.50 lakh.
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Nair challenged the FEMA Appellate Tribunal’s 9 January 2025 order before the Madras High Court in CMA No. 2309 of 2025.
His side argued that making the pre-deposit would cause financial hardship. The submissions recorded by the High Court referred to properties being attached in related income-tax proceedings and bank accounts being frozen.
The Enforcement Directorate opposed a complete waiver and pointed out that the Tribunal had already reduced the amount required to be deposited to 10% of the penalty.
On 17 September 2025, a Division Bench comprising Justice R Suresh Kumar and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar dismissed Nair’s appeal.
The High Court held that the Tribunal had already exercised its discretion by reducing the pre-deposit requirement to 10% and declined to interfere with the order.
The FEMA Tribunal initially gave Nair four weeks to deposit the ₹98.50 lakh. He did not deposit the amount within that period.
The Tribunal subsequently considered the matter and, through an order dated 25 March 2025, granted him a further six weeks to make the deposit. The amount was still not deposited within the extended period.
On 23 September 2025, the FEMA Tribunal dismissed Nair’s appeal for failure to comply with the pre-deposit requirement.
Nair then approached the Madras High Court again, challenging the dismissal of his FEMA appeal.
The second High Court case was CMA No. 3866 of 2025. On 8 January 2026, a Division Bench comprising Justice R Suresh Kumar and Justice Shamim Ahmed dismissed Nair’s appeal.
The High Court noted that the Tribunal had initially granted four weeks for the deposit and subsequently provided a further six-week extension.
Since the required ₹98.50 lakh had still not been deposited, the High Court declined to interfere with the Tribunal’s decision to dismiss the appeal.
There is also a Supreme Court proceeding involving Mallikarjunan Nair and the Union of India. The case was filed in March 2026 under Diary No. 18970/2026. The Supreme Court’s official cause list shows the matter before the Court on 22 May 2026.
The available official record confirms the proceeding, but does not establish a subsequent substantive order overturning or upholding the Madras High Court’s January 2026 judgment.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
