Raj Kundra Granted Interim Protection From Arrest in 2020 Adult Film Case Till Wednesday

Justice SK Shinde granted Kundra protection in his anticipatory bail plea filed last week. Kundra had assailed an order of the sessions court rejecting his ABA.

Advocate Prashant Patil for Kundra argued that his co-accused Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey were granted protection.

Patil added that Kundra had cooperated with investigators thus far, and the sessions court had also granted him interim protection earlier.

The prosecution opposed the prayer on the grounds that Kundra's case and co-accused' case was on a different footing, but sought time to take instructions.

Justice Shinde granted Kundra protection until next Wednesday, when the court is likely to take up the plea for final hearing.

Sixty seven year-old Madhukar Keni, a retired Customs and Central Excise officer, approached the Cyber police, on October 31, 2020, with a pen drive and complaint against several adult content platforms.

The Nodal Cyber Police booked the accused in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai under sections 292 (obscenity) IPC, section 67 and 67A (transmitting sexually explicit material), of the Information Technology Act, 2008 and sections of Indecent Representation of Women (Protection) Act, 1986, on November 6, 2020.

Raj Kundra's Contentions in Appeal

Kundra submitted that his name did not reflect in the FIR and that the police recorded his detailed statement. Other witness statements have also already been recorded, he said.

Kundra claimed that in February 2020, one of his acquaintances approached him to invest in a venture called Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which was engaged in providing a digital platform for artists to showcase their talents and interact with clients.

It was a subscription-based model. Since he felt it was a unique venture, Kundra said he invested in the company. He was associated with the company only between February to December 2019, and played no active role in it, he said.

He reiterated that one of the apps the company developed, called "Hotshots" has nothing to do with pornography, as is alleged by the police. Kundra accused the police of false implications.

Even in the 2021 case, the allegations against Kundra are that his company, Armsprime Media Ltd. had developed and sold 'Hotshots App' to another UK based company called Kenrin Pvt Ltd, which Kundra's relative Pradip Bakshi owns, "to earn money by streaming porn content on social media."

The police claimed that Kundra's active role was revealed as employees of his company known as Viaan Industries maintained the 'Hotshots App' and got remuneration from Kenrin Pvt Ltd.

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