The interim protection from arrest granted to Raj Kundra, husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, in August has been extended till September 20 in the 2020 porn film case, Bar and Bench reported.
The Bombay High Court had earlier granted him protection from arrest until August 25 in the 2020 case.
Kundra is currently in jail in a similar ongoing pornography case, which has been under investigation since February 2021.
The October 2020 FIR was registered by the Cyber Cell in connection with the broadcasting of nude erotic content on an OTT platform.
The FIR was lodged under Sections 292, 293 (sale of obscene material) under the Indian Penal Code, Sections 66E, 67, 67A (transmission of sexually explicit material) under the IT Act and provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
While applying for his pre-arrest bail in the 2020 case in August, Kundra had said that the allegations in the 2020 FIR and the ones in the chargesheet filed in the 2021 case being identical caused him to apprehend an arrest in the latter case as well.
Claiming that he was falsely implicated in the case, Kundra’s application argued for his pre-arrest bail on the grounds that the co-accused were already out on bail. It further noted that the offences charged against him were all punishable with less than seven years of imprisonment
Kundra also said there was no evidence to connect his Hotshot app with the alleged offences as none of the actors accused in the case had raised any grievance.
While the Bombay High Court had first granted Kundra interim protection from arrest in the 2020 case on August 18, Justice PD Naik recused himself from hearing the anticipatory bail plea on September 8. The public prosecutor had then given an oral assurance that no coercive action would be taken against Kundra till Monday.
Meanwhile, Kundra was arrested on July 19 as the “key conspirator” in the pornography films case that the Mumbai Police began investigating in February 2021. He has been accused of making pornographic videos under the pretext of producing short films for OTT platforms.
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Kundra’s bail plea in the 2021 case was rejected twice on July 23 and July 27 by the magistrate court and he was remanded to custody both times.
On August 7, the Bombay High Court had also rejected Kundra’s plea challenging his arrest and the subsequent orders in the case.
The next date for hearing Kundra’s bail plea in the 2021 pornography case has been scheduled for Thursday.
So far, 11 people, including Kundra, have been arrested in connection to the 2021 case.