Po*n Films Case: HC Says No Urgent Relief To Raj Kundra Till Prosecution Is Heard
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it cannot pass any order granting urgent relief to businessman Raj Kundra, arrested in a case of alleged production and distribution of pornographic films through apps, without first
The
Bombay
High
Court
on
Tuesday
said
it
cannot
pass
any
order
granting
urgent
relief
to
businessman
Raj
Kundra,
arrested
in
a
case
of
alleged
production
and
distribution
of
pornographic
films
through
apps,
without
first
hearing
the
prosecution.
Justice
A
S
Gadkari
directed
the
police
to
file
its
affidavit
by
July
29
in
response
to
a
petition
submitted
by
Kundra
(45)
challenging
his
arrest
in
the
case.
Kundra,
the
husband
of
actor
Shilpa
Shetty,
was
arrested
on
July
19
by
the
Mumbai
Police's
crime
branch
in
the
porn
films
case
filed
in
February
this
year.
Post-arrest,
he
was
sent
in
police
custody
by
a
city
court.
On
Tuesday,
a
magistrate's
court
remanded
him
in
14-day
judicial
custody.
Kundra
moved
the
magistrate's
court
for
bail
and
his
plea
was
kept
for
hearing
on
Wednesday.
Kundra's
lawyers
Aabad
Ponda
and
Subhash
Jadhav
argued
in
the
HC
on
Tuesday
that
the
police
failed
to
follow
the
procedure
laid
down
in
law
and
ought
to
have
first
issued
a
notice
under
section
41A
of
the
CrPC
instead
of
arresting
him
directly.
Public
prosecutor
Aruna
Kamat
Pai
refuted
the
claim
and
said
a
notice
was
indeed
issued
to
Kundra
before
he
was
placed
under
arrest.
The
HC
directed
Pai
to
file
an
affidavit
in
response
to
the
petition.
Ponda
then
sought
some
interim
relief
for
his
client.
Justice
Gadkari,
however,
refused
and
said
it
cannot
grant
any
relief
without
giving
a
chance
to
the
prosecution
first
to
respond
to
the
petition.
“No
ex-parte
ad-interim
relief,”
the
court
said.
Kundra,
in
his
petition,
has
maintained
his
arrest
and
the
subsequent
order
passed
by
the
magistrate's
court
remanding
him
in
police
custody
were
illegal
as
no
notice
was
issued
to
him.
As
per
section
41A
of
the
CrPC,
the
police
may,
in
cases
where
arrest
is
not
warranted,
issue
summons
to
the
accused
person
and
record
his
or
her
statement.
Kundra,
in
his
plea,
has
also
said
the
material
which
the
police
claimed
to
be
pornographic
did
not
depict
direct
or
explicit
sexual
acts
but
shows
material
in
the
form
of
short
movies
"which
are
lascivious
or
appeal
to
the
prurient
interest
of
persons
at
best".
After
Kundra's
arrest,
the
crime
branch
had
described
him
as
the
"key
conspirator" of
the
case.
He
has
been
booked
under
Indian
Penal
Code
Sections
420
(cheating),
34
(common
intention),
292
and
293
(related
to
obscene
and
indecent
advertisements
and
displays),
and
relevant
sections
of
the
IT
Act
and
the
Indecent
Representation
of
Women
(Prohibition)
Act.