The Mumbai Police opposed the bail plea of Raj Kundra and co-accused Ryan Thorpe in the adult films case before the sessions court on August 10 alleging that it would send the wrong message to society.
Police further stated that if they are released they could commit similar crimes again, abscond or impact 'social culture'.
Following the rejection of similar petitions by the metropolitan magistrate's court last month, both accused have sought bail with the sessions court.
Kundra, in his bail plea, claims that while there is no evidence of his involvement in the case, the evidence that the police claim to have seized includes no obscenity. According to the Mumbai Police, videos obtained during the investigation reveal that pornographic content published on the Hotshots app was related to Kundra's firm.
Kundra has claimed that the evidence in the case is purely documentary and that his continued custody is unnecessary. He has stated that he is a family man with significant societal roots who will cooperate with the investigation.
The plea further claimed that he had been thoroughly investigated while in police custody and that, because the allegations against him carry a possible sentence of seven years, he should be considered for bail. He also stated that the defendants who had been arrested earlier in the case and against whom a charge sheet had been filed were given bail.
However, the police have objected to Kundra's bail request, claiming that he is a prominent person and a British citizen who may flee the country if released.
Furthermore, stating another reason to not grant bail to Kundra, Mumbai Police stated that there was more evidence in the case to be discovered and but after being freed from jail, Kundra would try to destroy them.
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They said Kundra refused to sign the seizure panchnama following the search and seizure at his office.
According to police, he also refused to acknowledge the notice issued under Section 41A(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and was unresponsive during the interrogation. Raj Kundra allegedly sought to delete data from his phone, suggesting that he would not cooperate with the inquiry.
Raj Kundra, according to the affidavit, created another app called "Bolly Fame" as a replacement for the Hotshots app, which had to be shut down. The police wanted to see whether there were more applications that needed to be looked at.
Apart from that, if Raj Kundra and his company's IT director, Ryan Thorpe are freed on bail they may influence the witnesses. The women and victims who have come forward to provide testimony since the case's registration may be reluctant to do so out of fear of the accused.
Kundra's bail appeal will be considered on August 20.
In another development, Raj Kundra was denied anticipatory bail by a Mumbai court in connection with a case filed by the cybercrime police in November 2020.
The case was filed on the basis of a complaint from a retired customs. The cybercrime branch filed an FIR against 14 OTT platforms and online sites for obscene content in 2020.