Rs 60 crore ‘cheating’ case: Bombay HC to hear today plea by actor Shilpa Shetty, husband Raj Kundra seeking to quash FIR

The FIR lodged on the basis of the complaint claimed that a meeting was arranged in 2015 at a five-star hotel in Juhu, where Kundra, Shetty, Arya and Kothari were present. The couple allegedly claimed that they were the directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a now-defunct home shopping and online retail platform, and sought a loan. However, they persuaded Kothari to route the amounts as “investment” to avoid higher taxation, while assuring monthly returns and repayment of the principal amount.

Kothari alleged that the amount was credited to Best Deal TV’s HDFC Bank accounts and that he had given the couple a loan of Rs 60.4 crore for business expansion between 2015 and 2023.

Last month, actor Shilpa Shetty withdrew her interim application seeking to travel abroad in October in a separate plea challenging the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against the couple in the case. The actor, however, sought permission to file a new plea to approach the court for permission to travel abroad in December.

This came after the high court orally asked the actor why she could not become an approver in the Rs 60-crore cheating case, after her lawyer said that there were no specific allegations against her and no direct connection with the alleged crime or Kundra’s company in question. Earlier, the high court had also orally asked the couple to deposit Rs 60 crore before pursuing their plea to travel to the US and other countries.