On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court directed actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra to deposit Rs 60 crore or provide a bank guarantee while hearing their plea seeking temporary relief from a Look-Out Circular (LOC) issued against them. The LOC was issued as the couple is at the centre of an ongoing investigation into a Rs 60 crore fraud case. They sought temporary relief to travel to London.
Shilpa and Raj directed to deposit Rs 60 crore
The plea was being heard by a bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and R.R. Bhonsale. In their application, the couple cited the urgent need to visit Kundra’s father, who is undergoing medical treatment in London.
Their plea stressed that the trip was solely for family medical reasons, stating, “This is not a leisure trip, and the applicants undertake that they will only visit Kundra’s father and return to India as scheduled, if permitted.”
In October this year, Raj and Shilpa had appealed to the Bombay High Court to suspend the LOC so they could travel abroad for work and leisure. At the time, the bench said it would consider the plea only if they deposited Rs 60 crore- the amount involved in the cheating case.
About the complaint against Shilpa and Raj
A case was registered against Shetty and Kundra at Juhu Police Station on August 14 for allegedly duping businessman Deepak Kothari (60) of nearly Rs 60 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal. Kothari alleged that between 2015 and 2023, they convinced him to invest Rs 60 crore in their company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, but the money was used for their personal benefit.
The couple`s legal team has dismissed the allegations, stating the matter is purely civil in nature and had already been adjudicated by NCLT Mumbai in October 2024. “This is an old transaction involving a company that went into financial distress and was entangled in a long legal battle at the NCLT,” the statement read, according to the reports. The lawyers also claimed that there was no criminal intent involved and all cash flow statements and supporting documents had been submitted to the EOW as required.
Shetty reportedly told Mumbai Police that she did not look into the affairs of the company she co-founded with Raj Kundra. Her statement was recorded by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on October 4, during a session lasting more than four hours at her residence.