Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s businessman husband Raj Kundra was arrested last month and is in judicial custody for allegedly making pornographic films for mobile applications. On Saturday, August 7, the Bombay High Court dismissed the immediate release petition filed by Raj Kundra and his associate Ryan Thorpe challenging the orders passed by Metropolitan Magistrate. According to Live Law India, Justice AS Gadkari said, “The remand to custody by the Metropolitan Magistrate is within the conformity of law and does not require any interference.”
The petition mentions non-compliance of Section 41 A of the Criminal Procedure Code, where an issue a notice directing the person against whom a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed a cognizable offence, to appear before him or at such other place as may be specified in the notice.
Raj Kundra claims in his petition that he was sent the notice but only as a formality and was arrested soon after. His associate Ryan Thorpe claims he was arrested despite accepting the notice and cooperating with investigating officers.
Raj Kundra Kundra and Ryan Thorpe were arrested on July 19, 2021, by the Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch. They are booked under sections 354(C) (Voyeurism), 292 (sale of obscene content), 420(cheating), 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC and Sections 67, 67A (transmission of sexually explicit material) of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. They are both in judicial custody now.
