Raj Kundra who has been accused of creating and publishing pornographic content has been sent to 14 days judicial custody till August 10 along with his partner Ryan Thorpe, his lawyer Abad Ponda said on Tuesday. Kundra, who is married to Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, was produced before a Mumbai court which declined the prosecution plea for extending his police custody by another seven days.
Ponda said that Kundra's bail application will be taken up for hearing on Wednesday before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
Last week he was arrested after the Mumbai Police Commissioner called him a key conspirator in the case and said that the police had enough evidence against him. Soon after arrest, he was remanded to police custody till July 23 which was extended till July 27, and now he has been sent to judicial custody till August 10.
Among other things, the prosecution informed that the court that it had come across an amount of Rs 1.13 crore belonging to Kundra's company in a private bank account which they wanted to probe further. Opposing the remand plea, Ponda argued that Kundra's custody is being sought in offences that are largely bailable barring two non-bailable charges.
He said that there was nothing new for which the prosecution was seeking to extend his custody and reiterated that if the police had summoned him (Kundra) he would have cooperated. Ponda said that Kundra has applied for bail and his application will be taken up for hearing on Wednesday (July 28) before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court. Kundra has contended in his bail plea that he has been fully cooperating with the ongoing investigations and has already been in custody for long.
Raj Kundra was arrested by the Mumbai Police late on July 19 along with 11 other people on charges related to the alleged creation of pornographic films. Meanwhile, investigating the porn film case, Mumbai Police Crime Branch has found a hidden cupboard in Kundra's Viaan and JL Stream office in Mumbai's Andheri during searches.
The police have also raided Kundra's home in Juhu last Friday and recorded the statement of his wife Shilpa Shetty, besides summoning others, in the pornography case that first erupted in February and later international angles came to the fore.
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.