Pornography Case: Raj Kundra’s Bail Plea Rejected Yet Again

The bail plea of actor Shilpa Shetty's husband and businessman Raj Kundra has been rejected yet again by the metropolitan magistrate court on Wednesday in the pornography case, stating that the release of the accused will 'hamper the investigation' and the alleged offence is 'detrimental to the health of the society'.

"One of the considerations for refusing or granting the bail is the nature of offence and gravity of the offence. The effect of the alleged offence is having nexus with the public at large. The alleged offence is also detrimental to the health of our society," the court said in an order.

"In such circumstances, societal interest in the prosecution of a crime that has a wider social dimension cannot be overlooked. At present investigation is in progress. In such circumstances, at this stage release of the accused will definitely hamper the investigation. So considering the facts and circumstances, both the bail applications are rejected," it added.

Court also considered the prosecution's argument that the accused have deleted the evidence.

Strongly objecting to the bail plea of the accused, the court stated that the investigation is still going on and the offence is of serious nature, adding that if the accused are released on bail, then they will abscond and the possibility of tampering with the evidence cannot be ruled out.

Earlier on Mondayu, The Bombay High Court had reserved its order on petitions filed by Kundra and his associate Ryan Thorpe challenging their arrest in a case in connection with the pornography case.

During the session, the investigating officer told the court that 68 pornography videos were found on Kundra's laptop.

"There was a PowerPoint presentation (PPT) on Kundra's laptop with details of Hotshots app. The PPT has financial projections, marketing strategies and what the app is all about," he told the court.

He further added that a film script with sexual content was also found on Kundra's personal laptop.

"Kundra has deleted his i-cloud contents," he said adding they "cannot be mute spectators of a potential crime if the accused does not co-operate and tries to destroy evidence."

On July 27, a Mumbai court sent actor Kundra along with his associate Ryan Thorpe to judicial custody for 14 days.

Kundra was arrested by police on July 19 along with 11 other people on charges related to the alleged pornography case.

Kundra has been named as the key conspirator by the Mumbai Police which has slapped charges against him under Sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides relevant sections of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

Four of his employees also turned witnesses against Kundra in the pornography case.

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