Porn Films Case: No Interim Bail for Raj Kundra, Hearing Adjourned

Raj Kundra had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, calling his arrest 'illegal'.

Raj Kundra is currently in police custody in a case related to creation and publication of pornographic material. 

(Photo Courtesy: IANS)

The Bombay High Court adjourned the hearing of Raj Kundra bail to 29 July and the businessman hasn’t been granted interim relief.

Earlier, a court in Mumbai sent businessman Raj Kundra and one Ryan Thorpe to judicial custody for 14 more days in the pornography racket case, as per a report by ANI.

Raj Kundra's wife, actor Shilpa Shetty, hasn't been given clean chit yet and forensic auditors will look into all transactions in the case, a Mumbai Crime Branch official said.

Statements of other directors of Viaan Industries, owned by Raj Kundra, will also be recorded. Shilpa Shetty had quit as a director of the company earlier.

ANI reported that the bank accounts of an accused Arvind Shrivastav (alias Yash Thakur) have been frozen. The Mumbai Police has asked him to join the investigation.

The police suspects that Raj Kundra's brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi was only used as a face but the app involved in the publication of the pornographic material, Hotshots, was primarily handled by Raj Kundra.

On 23 July, Kundra had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, challenging his arrest and calling it 'illegal'.

The Mumbai Police had told the court during an earlier hearing that they suspect Kundra used the money earned from pornography for online betting. "In WhatsApp chats we have found that Raj Kundra was talking about a deal about selling 121 videos for USD 1.2 million. This deal seems to be on the international level", the police had further stated.

Raj Kundra being taken to Byculla jail.

Mumbai Crime Branch officials have also claimed that Kundra had deleted all data and changed his phone after the pornography racket was busted earlier this year. Sources in the crime branch told India Today that since the old phone is not available, data such as calls and texts from the period when the pornography racket was operating cannot be accessed.