A team of Mumbai Police Crime Branch reached the residence of actor Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra on Friday, ANI reported. Earlier in the day a court extended Kundra’s police custody till July 27 in a case related to alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them.
Kundra was arrested on the night of July 19 by the city police’s crime branch after being booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
He was produced before the magistrate court on Friday. Police sought an extension of his custody to probe the matter further.
According to ANI reports, Kundra’s lawyer approached the high court saying that his arrest in the first place was not legal.
The lawyer, according to the report, said that in the 4,000-page chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police, there is no specific mention of pornography. Raj Kundra’s other lawyer Abad Ponda had earlier contested the arrest saying that the authorities did not follow the due procedure as he was not issued a proper notice of appearance under Section 41A o the CrPC.
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“Notice in the matter where FIR is registered on 05.02.2021, the Charge sheet is filed on 03.04.2021 and they could have easily served notice and could have allowed the Petitioner to appear and give his statement and if the Petitioner failed to do so the consequences would had followed. However, if the Petitioner did appear then under Section 41A (3), he should not be arrested at all, is the mandate of law,” the plea said, as per Livelaw.
The police had earlier told the court that the 45-year-old businessman was gaining financially from the illegal activity of making and selling pornographic material.
Also read: Shilpa Shetty’s first post 4 days after husband Raj Kundra’s arrest
The police claimed that they seized Kundra’s mobile phone and its contents need to be scrutinised and also his business dealings and transactions have to be looked into.
Apart from Kundra, the police also produced another accused, Ryan Thorpe, before the court, which extended his custody till July 27.
