Earlier today, Raj Kundra was sent to judicial custody for 14 days. File
Granting no immediate relief to businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra, the Bombay High Court today adjourned the hearing on his bail plea in a case of alleged production and distribution of pornographic films.
The court has adjourned the hearing on the plea till Thursday and asked the investigating officer to be present at the next hearing.
The 45-year-old businessman was arrested last Monday and remanded in police custody. On July 23, the police custody was extended till today. And earlier today, he was sent to judicial custody today for 14 days.
Last week, Raj Kundra challenged his arrest in the case, saying the videos might be described as "lascivious" but do not show "explicit sexual acts".
In his bail plea, Raj Kundra has argued that the magistrate's order sending him to police custody violated the law as serving a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure before arrest is mandatory, especially in view of the Covid pandemic. Under Section 41A, the police may, in cases where arrest is not warranted, issue summons to the accused and record his or her statement.
The material which police claim to be pornographic did not "depict direct explicit sexual acts and sexual intercourse but shows material in the form of short movies which are lascivious or appeal to the prurient interest of persons at best", Raj Kundra has said in his bail plea. On this ground, he has said, Section 67A of the Information Technology Act that relates to publishing sexually explicit content cannot be invoked.
Nine more people, including Raj Kundra's close aide Ryan Thorpe, have been arrested in the case. So far, police say, they have not found any evidence that Shilpa Shetty had any involvement in the case.