Dhruva Natchathiram's journey to theatres has hit yet another legal snag. The Madras High Court on Tuesday referred three fresh applications related to the long-delayed Vikram-starrer to Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, who had passed the April 30 order that had earlier cleared the way for the film's release.

Justice K Kumaresh Babu was hearing the new applications, one of which was filed by director Gautham Vasudev Menon seeking time until July 15 to release the film. The investors, K Punniyamoorthy and K Premkumar, filed two applications of their own — one seeking that Rs 10.22 crore allegedly owed to them be set aside before the film reaches theatres, and another questioning the financial details submitted by Gautham before the court. The investors also sought directions for an independent auditor to verify the list of creditors presented by the filmmaker.

Since the investor applications effectively seek modifications to the April 30 order, Justice Kumaresh Babu ruled that such pleas must be heard by the judge who passed the original order, referring all three applications to Justice Ramamoorthy. The matter is now listed for June 24.

The development comes shortly after a Division Bench dismissed the investors' earlier appeals against the April order, which had briefly revived hopes of a release for the film.