A Mumbai magistrate court on Monday granted bail to businessman Raj Kundra, an accused in a pornographic films case in which he was arrested two months ago.
Kundra’s associate Ryan Thorpe, who was arrested along with him on July 19, was also granted bail.
Adv. Swapnil Ambure and Adv. Prashant Patil representing Kundra and Thrope, said in a statement to ETimes, "The Court heard the bail applications of Raj Kundra and Ryan Thorpe today. It was strongly opposed by the prosecutor who stated that this is a serious offence and it’s against women. He claimed if granted bail, women in society would feel unsafe."
"We pointed out that despite two separate attempts there was nothing which shows criminal involvement," the lawyers said.
The crime branch, probing the case, filed a supplementary charge sheet against Kundra and three others alleging the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps.
Revealing details about the same, Ambure said, "We explained that celebrities have control over their apps and the company has only made those apps and maintained its functioning. The app is just a platform on which the owner i.e the celebrity and the viewer who pay for their subscription have total control and discretion. The platform is not responsible for its content."
Patil added, "Investigation was over and the charge sheet was filed and now further custody was not required. Court ruled that since the charge sheet is filed and as it had already ruled that videos in question were shot with the consent of adult women, there was no need to keep the accused behind bars."
Kundra had filed a bail plea before the court, claiming there was not a single evidence against him.
The businessman, in the plea, had claimed there was no evidence of him being "actively" involved in the creation of alleged questionable porn content and that he was being made a "scapegoat" in the case.
Kundra, who is the husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is expected to be released from custody on Tuesday on a surety of Rs 50,000.
Following the news of her husband being granted bail, Shilpa took to her social media handle to share a message of hope that read, "Rainbows exist to prove that beautiful things can happen after a bad storm."
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