Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her entrepreneur husband Raj Kundra were involved in a Rs 60 crore cheating case earlier this year. However, in a hearing on Wednesday, December 10, at the Bombay High Court, they were orally asked to deposit Rs 60 crore or produce a bank guarantee from a nationalised bank of the said amount. This comes after a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against the couple, which restrained their travel to London to visit his ailing father.
A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale’s decision came as a response to the interim application in a plea which challenged the LOC, as per an Indian Express report. Earlier, in an October hearing, another bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar orally asked the couple to deposit Rs 60 crore before pursuing any business-related travel abroad.
Raj Kundra’s plea for travel
As per the report, senior advocate Aabad Ponda had submitted that last month that Kundra’s father was diagnosed with a chronic and unexplained iron-ammonia deficiency. This in turn was causing blood loss and several other complications. The petition also revealed that his condition was getting worse with recurring episodes of breathlessness, seeking approval for travel to London, until January 2026.
However, the Justice Gadkari-led bench was told that Kundra’s father, 79, his haemoglobin count that had fallen, too. Since his wife, 78, was there alone, the family members needed to be there. To this, the judge orally responded, “Give a guarantee of the amount and go.”
However, the remark was opposed by the counsel, who cited that the apex court frowned upon the practice of seeking a deposit of the amount involved in the case for suspension of LOCs. He added that there was no law which stipulated the deposit of the amount. “What if you do not come back? What happens then? The Government of India should go and check? Show me your clients’ bonafide. We will admit your plea and hear it,” Justice Gadkari orally responded.
The plea is now said to be heard after three weeks. While Raj Kundra‘s legal team sought for an urgent hearing, they also suggested the alternative security amount that may be deposited instead of Rs 60 crore. “Prosecution has shown some apprehension. Either deposit the amount or produce a bank guarantee of the nationalised bank of the said amount,” said Justice Gadkari and posted for further hearing next week.