The Bombay High Court today rejected a request by entrepreneur Raj Kundra demanding his immediate release from judicial detention in a pornographic film case. When he was arrested last month, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s husband contested a magistrate’s court’s remand decision, claiming that he had not been warned or served summons before his arrest, as required by the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Kundra claimed in his appeal that his arrest was unconstitutional since he was not served with a notice as required by Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Before the crime branch authorities searched his office on July 19, he stated several individuals were detained in connection with the pornographic content case and later freed on bail.
Read also: Actor Umesh Kamat takes legal route for linking him to Raj Kundra case
According to his appeal, he was summoned to the police station in Byculla under the guise of recording a statement but was instead detained. Not only was Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) breached by not providing a notice, but the magistrate court also rejected his plea challenging his “illegal” incarceration by ordering him to police remand until July 23, according to the petition.
The High Court’s judgment today said that the magistrate court’s order remanding sending Raj to the custody of police was right and legal. Justice AS Gadkari rejected his appeal, stating that his remand and subsequent judicial custody were legal and did not require interference.
Read also: Raj Kundra got lakhs in payments from porn app Hot Hit
The police had previously said that a notice had been given before Mr. Kundra’s detention, but he had refused to accept it. The rejection “implies the petitioner refused to cooperate,” according to the police. On July 19, the businessman was detained together with an acquaintance and employee, Ryan Thorpe, for their roles in the creation of pornography. He, on the other hand, claims that the clip in question was not pornographic and that identical content could be found on OTT platforms.
