Raj Kundra, a multimillionaire businessman, has applied for bail in the Bombay High Court in Mumbai, India, in a case involving the production of pornographic films by a company with claimed ties to his firm.
Mr. Kundra, who is married to prominent Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, was detained by Mumbai police on July 19 and sentenced to 14 days in judicial detention by a Mumbai court.
A case was filed with the Mumbai police's crime section in February this year against the making of pornographic films and their distribution on several applications, according to a statement.
In India, laws ban the publication and transmission of "obscene material," though private viewing is permitted.
Mr. Kundra was detained in this case because he looks to be a "key conspirator," according to the police, who claim that they have "sufficient evidence" against him.
According to an officer, the complaint was filed in February after a lady claimed to police she was compelled to participate in a pornographic film in exchange for a promise of an acting career.
Mr. Kundra's Viaan Industries had ties to Kenrin, a London-based business that controls the OTT platform "Hotshots," which was reportedly used to distribute pornographic films, according to a senior police officer quoted by the Press Trust of India.
Kenrin is owned by Mr. Kundra's brother-in-law, according to the official.
The police also told a Mumbai court that Hotshots received Rs 1.17 crore (£106,084) from the Apple store alone between August and December 2020. According to The Indian Express newspaper, revenue from the Google Play Store is projected to be substantially greater.
Mr. Kundra told the Bombay High Court in a petition that the recordings police contend are pornographic do not show "explicit sexual acts," but rather short films that are "lascivious."
According to reports, Ms. Shetty also delivered a statement to the Mumbai police in which she denied any association with Hotshots and stated that the information on it might be classified as erotica rather than porn.
When police were called to their Mumbai home for a search, the star allegedly yelled at Mr. Kundra. According to police sources, a crying Ms. Shetty asked her husband "what was the need for him to be involved in this" and that the "family's reputation had been ruined."
