A Story by Jasmine Kaur

INTRODUCTION

Businessman Raj Kundra has filed written notes in anticipatory bail application at the Bombay High Court, in connection with the pornography case involving Poonam Pandey and Sherlyn Chopra.

 The Court, last week adjourned the hearing in the case for Monday, November 22. In his written notes, Kundra’s legal team headed by Advocate Prashant Patil and Advocate Swapnil Ambureandstated that “no case under Section 67, nor 67(A) can be made out against the applicant or against any other co-accused, in the present prosecution.”

Advocate’s statement

In a statement to ETimes, Amber said, “The prosecution is seeking to contend that Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey’s videos are the subject matter of the offense. It is a matter of record that Mr. Kundra has played no part either in making or distributing the said videos. In fact, both Ms. Chopra and Pandey have said that they themselves made such videos and it was done by them for making commercial gains.”

 Patil adds, “We have submitted a judgment and a brief note which shows how the said content/videos do not attract 67A of the IT Act. The expression ‘Explicit’ means, ‘Stated clearly and precisely and or prescribing or representing sexual activity in a direct and detailed way.” While the expression ‘Sexual Activity is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary as ‘Physical sexual activity or both persons engaged in sexual relations.”

 They also allege that Kundra, “Is in no way connected to the content creation, publication or even transmitting the said videos.”

 They also argued that “the videos may be erotic but do not involve any physical sexual activity or both persons engaged in sexual relations.”

 Addressing the investigations involving the app ‘Hotshots’, the lawyers stated that, “None of the content which was displayed on ‘Hotshots’ was created or uploaded during the period which he was connected with it.”

 Countering the allegations put forth by Chopra and Pandey, they cited in the application that the content, “Is not sexually explicit as is required under 67A of the IT Act. Also, Ms Chopra and Ms Pandey, through their personal OTT app provided by the Applicants Company had full control over the broadcasting and distribution, and have earned remuneration out of it.”

 It further went to state that both Poonam and Sherlyn were provided with the platform through which they could have interactions with their fans who paid for its subscription.

 The Bombay HC in July accepted Sherlyn and Poonam’s anticipatory bail applications in the porn case. After hearing their plea, the Court announced that no coercive action will be taken against the duo till September 20, 2021.

 The duo has maintained that they had been forced by Kundra into shooting the A-rated films.

 The anticipatory bail hearing will be held on Thursday, 25th November.

Raj Kundra porn case

On July 19, Mumbai police had arrested Shilpa Shetty’s husband and businessman in a pornographic content circulation racket. On the following day, cops revealed that struggling models and artists were lured in name of short films and web series after which they were forced to do semi-nude and nude scenes against their wishes.

The Mumbai Police found several mobile applications, including the Hotshots app, were being operated to circulate porn. The Hotshots app, which was owned by a London-based company called Kernin, produced all of its contents with the help of the Viaan company in Mumbai, owned by Raj Kundra.

Earlier in the day, cops arrested a director of one of Kundra’s companies. Abhijeet Bomble, who was named as one of the accused in the pornography case, was arrested by the Mumbai Police’s crime branch.