Actress Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra have moved the High Court seeking quashing of the case filed in a case of alleged fraud worth nearly INR 60 crore. Apart from demanding that the case be quashed, the couple has also sought an order restraining the police from filing a chargesheet and not taking any coercive action against them until the case is sub judice.
The petitions of Shilpa and Raj came up for hearing on Monday before a bench of Chief Justice Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad. At that time, the court ordered that a copy of the petition be given to the original complainant, Deepak Kothari, and posted the matter for hearing on November 20.
The couple has claimed in their petitions that a criminal complaint has been filed against them based on false facts and with the malicious intent of extorting money. Shilpa has claimed in the petition that she was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, but was associated with the company for a very limited period of time. Similarly, the company suffered losses due to unexpected economic conditions, particularly the liquidation in November 2016, which severely impacted its cash-based business. Shilpa and Raj have also claimed in the petition that the losses incurred were only commercial losses and were not part of any attempt to deceive anyone or a criminal conspiracy.
What is the case?
Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty were directors of an online shopping company called ‘Best Deal TV Private Limited’. The plaintiff businessman Deepak Kothari had invested INR 60 crore 48 lakh in this company between 2015 and 2023. 87.6 percent of the shares in this company were in the names of the two, Kothari invested INR 31.9 crore in the company under a 'Share Subscription Agreement' in April 2015. Then, in September 2015, another INR 28.53 crore was transferred under an extended agreement. However, Shilpa and Raj used this amount for personal expenses, Kothari alleged in the complaint filed with the police.
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