Element of inducement missing in Kundra's case: Court

A local court, while granting bail to businessman Raj Kundra, a key accused in the case of a pornographic film, noted that the element of inducement, which is the prime ingredient in cheating offences, appears to be missing from the case presented by the prosecution.

Kundra was granted bail and detailed order of the court was made available recently.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S B Bhajipale, in the bail order, also said all servers, laptops and mobile phones of the accused persons and their companies were already in the custody of the police and hence there was no possibility of tampering with evidence.

Kundra and his associate and co-accused Ryan Thorpe were granted bail by the court on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each. Kundra, the husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and Thorpe were arrested by the Mumbai police's crime branch on July 19 in the case which relates to the alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through mobile apps.

The magistrate said all other co-accused in the case are out on bail and hence the applicant (Kundra) cannot be kept behind bars till the conclusion of the trial.

If the statements of the witnesses are perused then the element of inducement, which is the prime ingredient of cheating, appears to be missing from the case of the prosecution, the court said in its order.

The police had claimed Kundra and the other accused had lured small-time and struggling actors with a promise of roles in small movies and had later forced them into acting in pornographic films and subsequently uploaded the adult content on mobile apps.

The court, in its bail order, noted that the offences, under which Kundra has been booked, are not punishable for more than seven years. It further said the police have already filed a charge sheet in the case.