Dispute over a ₹23 lakh franchise issue leads Idli Guru founder to seek annulment of FIR at Bombay High Court, claiming fabricated charges
In a recent turn of events, Karthik Shetty, the founder of Idli Guru, has approached the Bombay High Court to quash an FIR lodged against him by Ravi Kalmeshwar Pujari. The FIR, filed by the Vile Parle police, alleges cheating and criminal breach of trust in a franchise deal.
The dispute stems from a franchise agreement that never materialised. According to Shetty, he had issued two cheques to Pujari, assuring payment after certain contractual terms were met. He maintains that the complaint is based on "false allegations and concocted stories."
In the agreement, Shetty quoted a franchise fee of Rs 20 lakh plus GST, along with a Rs 10,000 outlet ID fee. Pujari transferred Rs 10 lakh on November 29, 2023, and Rs 13.6 lakh on December 22, 2023, to Shetty's firm, Mankar Foods and Retail.
Pujari and his wife expressed interest in acquiring a franchise of Idli Guru in November 2023. A franchise agreement was signed on December 15, 2023, with Pujari's daughters named as franchisees. However, the business never took off, and Pujari later discovered that Shetty had been arrested in Bengaluru over similar franchise disputes.
Pujari chose to withdraw from the arrangement after the Karnataka High Court held those matters to be civil in nature. The petition argues that the dispute is contractual and lacks the ingredients of a criminal offence.
Shetty's anticipatory bail pleas were rejected by the Dindoshi sessions court, the High Court, and the Supreme Court. The petition seeks interim relief, including a stay on investigation, protection from arrest, and a direction to prevent the police from filing a chargesheet without court permission.
The current status of the legal dispute does not indicate any resolution of the FIR or the High Court's decision on the quashing petition as of August 2025. It is important to note that previous related franchise disputes involving Shetty in Bengaluru were held by the Karnataka High Court to be civil in nature.
[1] Source: Times of India [2] Source: Mumbai Mirror
- The news of the dispute between Karthik Shetty, the founder of Idli Guru, and Ravi Kalmeshwar Pujari over a franchise agreement has been making headlines in both general-news and business sections.
- The ongoing legal battle between Shetty and Pujari, initially focused on a franchise deal, has expanded to involve charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust, as per Mumbai crime-and-justice news.
- In a recent development, Shetty approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash an FIR filed by Pujari, in what is being considered a significant legal case in the finance and business sector.
- According to reports from Times of India, the legal dispute between Shetty and Pujati, involving allegations of fraud, continues to unfold in the courts of Mumbai, with no resolution in sight as of August 2025.
