A magistrate’s court in Mumbai granted bail to businessman Raj Kundra on Monday in a case of producing and streaming pornographic content.
Mr. Kundra along with his business aide and IT head of his company, Ryan Thorpe, have been granted bail on a ₹50,000 cash bond or surety. They were arrested on July 19 by the Property Cell of Mumbai Police after a pornographic racket was busted earlier this year.
However, the FIR against them, filed by the Cyber Crime Cell, dates back to October 2020 for allegedly broadcasting of nude erotic content on an online platform. In February 2021, a raid was conducted by the Crime Branch and two women were found shooting for a pornographic movie at Mr. Kundra’s bungalow.
The duo were booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 292 (sale, etc., of obscene books, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code and several relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and Indecent Representation of Women Act.
On August 7, the Bombay High Court had dismissed pleas from Mr. Kundra and Mr Thorpe for immediate release from Arthur Road jail. Justice A.S. Gadkari had said, “If released they will hamper the investigation and the alleged offence is detrimental to the health of the society.”
As per the chargesheet filed in April, Mr. Kundra was involved in producing and streaming pornographic content through an app called ‘Hotshots’ and ‘BollyFame.’ Around 51 movies have been seized from Mr .Kundra’s personal laptop and call detail records and obscene videos and photos were found on the app.
On September 15, a 1,467-page supplementary chargesheet was filed by the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police which named Mr. Kundra, Mr. Thorpe and others, with statements of 43 witnesses. Following this, the accused filed fresh bail applications.
