Bombay HC rejects Businessman Raj Kundra's plea in adult films case

Mumbai: Businessman Raj Kundra's plea seeking an immediate release from police custody in the porn racket case was turned down by the Bombay High Court on Saturday.

Raj Kundra and his assoscite Ryan Thorpe had alleged in the plea that the Mumbai Police did not issue him summons under Section 41A of CrPC before his arrest. The duo also challenged the extension of his police remand for 14 days by a Metropolitan Magistrate on July 28.

Justice A S Gadkari of the high court, who was presiding over their pleas, had reserved the verdict on the same on August 2.

The high court while rejecting the contentions made by Kundra and his aide said, "The remand to custody by the metropolitan magistrate is within conformity of law and does not require any interference. The mandatory provision of issuing a notice under section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) had not been followed.'

They had urged the high court to order for their immediate release and quash two orders passed by the magistrate's court remanding them to custody.

Ponda said that while Kundra's arrest and seizure of his phone, other electronic devices, etc, took place on July 19, the police belatedly added the charge pertaining to destruction of evidence. He said this charge was added in the FIR only on July 23 and there did not exist any document or panchnama to show that evidence had been destroyed by Kundra before his arrest.

They were booked under several sections of the IPC and the IT Act on charges of voyeurism, sale of obscene content, cheating, destruction of evidence, and transmission of sexually explicit material, etc. Both of them are in judicial custody currently.