In a brief yet eventful hearing, the Bombay High Court on Thursday permitted actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra to withdraw their plea seeking permission to travel abroad. The couple, accused in a ₹60-crore cheating case, decided not to press their interim application after the bench questioned the details of their proposed trip.
Background
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had earlier issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against the couple after businessman Deepak Kothari lodged a complaint alleging misappropriation of investment funds. Kothari claimed that money invested for "business expansion" between 2015 and 2023 was instead used for personal luxuries.
In earlier proceedings, the court had directed them to deposit ₹60 crore before considering any travel request and had already rejected their plea to travel to Phuket earlier this year.
Court's Observations
During hearing, a division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted that Shetty’s additional affidavit regarding her travel schedule was allegedly not notarised properly. The intervener's counsel even alleged discrepancies in the notary's signature and register entry.
When asked about this, Advocate Niranjan Mundargi, appearing for Shetty, responded candidly that he had 'no instructions regarding the notarisation issue but confirmed that his client "does not wish to pursue the request for travel at this stage."
The bench observed,
"If the applicant is not pressing the request, we will record it as withdrawn with liberty to apply again later," bringing the matter to a close.
Decision
The High Court dismissed the interim application as withdrawn, allowing the couple to move a fresh plea with complete particulars whenever they intend to travel in the future.
The court also listed the main writ petition challenging the LOC for hearing on November 17.
Case Title:- Raj Kundra & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.
Case Number:- Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 3098 of 2023
