Earlier a lower court had asked Bhandarkar to face trial in the case. Reacting to the apex court order, Bhandarkar expressed happiness and relief.

He said he was delighted and speechless. Eight years of my life has been ruined due to this case, he said reacting to the verdict.

Preeti Jain, meanwhile, said after the court order that she will continue with her fight for justice. In July 2004, Preeti had lodged a complaint with the Versova Police against Madhur alleging he had raped her 16 times between 1999 and 2004 under the pretext of casting her as actress in his films.

Madhur insists the complaint was of "cheating" and did not mention rape. In a statement issued then, Preeti had said, "We had sex 16 times and Madhur made promises of giving me a lead role in his films.

However, he didn`t offer me a lead role in any of his movies. At times when I refused, he raped me.

" Drama unfolded when Preeti was arrested in 2005 for hiring a contract killer to murder Bhadarkar. In January 2006, police requested the court to dismiss the case against Bhandarkar as they had found Preeti`s allegations to be false (less)