Bombay HC grants interim protection from arrest to Raj Kundra in 2020 porn films case
Mumbai, Aug 18: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to businessman Raj Kundra in connection with a porn films racket case registered by the city police in 2020.
A single bench of Justice S K Shinde directed the police to respond on August 25 to the pre-arrest bail plea filed by Kundra.
"Interim protection granted till then," Justice Shinde said.
Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, is currently in jail after being arrested in July in another case related to production and distribution of pornographic clips on some mobile apps.
He filed the anticipatory bail plea in the HC last week in connection with the 2020 case, after a sessions court rejected his application seeking pre-arrest bail.
In his plea, Kundra claimed that another accused in the case was granted bail and hence, he too should be given bail on parity.
Opposing the plea in the HC on Wednesday, Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde submitted that Kundra's role in the case was different from the other accused in the case.
She sought time to take more instructions on the application.
Granting her time, Justice Shinde directed for an interim order protecting Kundra from arrest till the next hearing date -August 25.
The FIR against Kundra was registered in October 2020 by the Mumbai police's cyber crime cell for alleged broadcasting of nude erotic content on an OTT platform.
Kundra in his plea submitted that he was falsely implicated in the case.
He claimed there was not a single iota of evidence with the prosecution to connect the 'Hotshot' app with the offences alleged, as none of the actresses arraigned as accused in the case had raised any grievance.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
