Raj Kundra case bail hearing: In the new development in the cyber department-related pornography case, Bombay High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to the businessman and Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra. He was taken into custody by the Mumbai crime branch on July 19 for the alleged creation of pornographic content. Immediately after his arrest, he applied for anticipatory bail in connection to the Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell's case that was registered last year. And, now the high court has decided to keep his anticipatory bail application for hearing next Wednesday (August 25). The UK-based businessman is currently in prison in another case related to the production and distribution of pornographic clips on some mobile apps.
Cyber department-related pornography case: Bombay High Court grants interim relief to businessman and Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra and keeps his anticipatory bail application for hearing next Wednesday, 25th August.
— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2021
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/YU0IFyHm8S
Earlier, the Mumbai sessions court did not grant anticipatory relief to Kundra. He is facing prosecution in the case registered in November 2020. He then filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court, seeking to overturn the order and obtain relief from arrest.
The FIR against Kundra was registered in October 2020 by the Mumbai police's cybercrime cell against pornography content available on various OTT platforms, Bar and Bench reported. In the adult film racket case, the officials had earlier said that Kundra's wife Shetty is yet to be given a clean chit in the case where her husband is the prime accused. Kundra’s lawyer, however, had stated that the 45-year-old businessman’s arrest was "illegal". The police also revealed that his arrest came when the businessman had started deleting WhatsApp groups and chats, indicating "destroying evidence". It was further revealed that the Mumbai crime branch had seized 51 pornographic films from two apps, Hotshots and Bolly Fame, reportedly. It also led to the revelation of an email message from Kundra on the alleged app with Pardeep Bakshi, his brother-in-law who owns a company in London. Follow the case here.
In the 2021 case, the Bombay High Court on August 7 rejected petitions by the businessman and his associate Ryan Thorpe seeking release from judicial custody.
Feature Image Credit: Raj Kundra/Instagram