Bombay HC to hear Raj Kundra's bail plea in pornography case today

The Bombay High Court will hear Raj Kundra’s plea a day after a Mumbai court rejected  his bail plea in a case related to the alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps.

Kundra, husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, was arrested on 19 July by the city police’s crime branch after being booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

On Tuesday, a magistrate’s court here remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

Kundra had filed a bail plea, but the court rejected it on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Bombay High Court had also refused to give him any urgent temporary relief.

The police claimed that during the probe into the case, it was found Kundra set up Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which, through London-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd, bought Hotshots app to upload objectionable videos on social media.

They had also alleged that Kundra earned over Rs 1.17 crore between August and December last year by uploading pornographic content online, through Hotshots.

The police also claimed to have found 51 obscene videos- 35 with Hotshots logo and 16 with BollyFame logo, during searches at the office of the accused.

Meanwhile, markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday slapped a monetary penalty on Viaan Industries Ltd, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Ripu Sudan Kundra (Raj), for disclosure lapses and consequent violation of insider trading norms.

According to a Sebi order, a total fine of Rs 3 lakh has been imposed on them to be paid jointly and severally. Shilpa and Ripu are the promoters of Viaan Industries. The order follows a probe conducted between September 2013- December 2015 to ascertain violation of Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) norms by the entities.