Mumbai sessions court denies Raj Kundra ABA in 2020 case filed by Maha Cyber Cell

In a big development, Mumbai sessions court on Tuesday denied anticipatory bail application filed by businessman and Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra in the case filed by Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell for producing and creating pronographic content in 2020. 

Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell's case against Raj Kundra

Earlier in 2020, Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell had registered a case against several OTT platforms including HotShots, the app developed by Armsprime Media company, which Raj Kundra was linked with. Despite the fact that HotShots was allegedly sold to Kundra by a UK-based firm by the name Kenrin, the Maharashtra Cyber Cell had arrested a photographer and a woman working as a creative director for Armsprime in connection with the case. 

At that time, Raj Kunda had informed the Maharashtra Police that he sold his stake in the company and had also submitted documents pretaining to his investments and exit formalities to the authorities.According to sources in the Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell, actors Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey were also booked as co-accused in the case in 2020. Both actors had made allegations against Raj Kundra in their statements to the Cyber Cell. However, Shilpa Shetty's husband was later granted interim bail by a Mumbai court last year. 

In her statement to the Cyber Cell, Sherlyn Chopra had allegedly said that Raj Kundra had 'pushed her' into the porn industry. Raj Kundra had signed a contract with Sherlyn Chopra. Sources had further said that Sherlyn Chopra had a contract with Armsprime Media, the firm with links to Raj Kundra, to source pornographic content for some app-based companies outside India. Kundra, who signed the contract himself, had told Chopra that she would get 50 per cent of the profit, claimed her lawyer Charanjeet Chanderpal. Chandrepal is the same lawyer who had managed to secure anticipatory bail for Sherlyn Chopra from the Bombay High Court in a case lodged by the Cyber Cell.

Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell: 'Raj Kundra signed contract with Sherlyn Chopra'

Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell had also informed that Sherlyn Chopra had a contract with Armsprime Media, the firm with links to Raj Kundra, to sources pornographic content for some app-based companies out of India. Sherlyn's lawyer Charanjeet Chanderpal had claimed that Raj Kundra, who signed the contract himself, had told his client that she would get 50 per cent of the profit. 

Referring to his client, Charanjeet Chanderpal had said Sherlyn used to operate her own semi-pornographic app but this part-time venture was not sustainable. While stating that it was later that Raj Kundra spotted his client and the two signed contract, Chanderpal had said that the two made a 'good amount' of money between June 2019 and June 2020. 

Lawyer Chanderpal had said, "However, Sherlyn Chopra realised that she was not getting compensated as per the agreement and asked for the contract to be terminated a year after it was signed. She then decided to float her own app for a second time. The new app even did well for some time, but Sherlyn realized in August 2020 that her content was getting pirated and she herself registered a police complaint in this regard."

Image: PTI & RajKundra9/Instagram