Actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, have approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the ₹60-crore cheating case filed against them by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.
Apart from seeking the quashing of the FIR, the couple has also requested the court to restrain the police from filing a chargesheet or taking any coercive action against them until their petitions are decided.
The pleas were heard on Monday by a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekar and Justice Gautam Ankhad. The bench directed the couple to serve a copy of their petitions to the complainant, Deepak Kothari, and posted the matter for further hearing on November 20.
The complaint filed by Kothari alleged that between 2015 and 2023, the couple induced him to invest ₹60 crore in their company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd. According to the FIR, the invested amount was allegedly diverted for their personal benefit rather than used for business purposes.
In their petitions, Shetty and Kundra contended that the FIR was based on a “false and distorted set of facts” and had been “maliciously filed with an ulterior and malafide motive to extort money.”
Shetty stated she was not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company and was only associated with it for a limited period. The couple maintained that the matter was essentially civil and contractual in nature, arising out of a failed business venture and investment losses.
They attributed the company’s downfall to “unforeseen economic circumstances,” citing the 2016 demonetisation that adversely affected cash-based businesses.
“The losses suffered were merely business losses and not due to any fraudulent design or criminal conspiracy,” their plea said.
The case will now be heard on November 20 when the court is expected to consider their request for quashing the FIR.
