Court relief for Shilpa, hubby

In a relief to actress Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra, the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Kongoan police not to file charge-sheet against the couple in the Best Deal TV case.

A Division Bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Sarang Kotwal heard the writ petition filed by Shetty and Kundra, who were booked for cheating and fraud after a textile firm owner alleged that the couple has dupe him of Rs 23 lakh, as they have failed to pay him the amount.

The complainant, Ravi Bhalotia, had alleged that he used to supply bedsheets to Best Deal TV (BDTV), a tele-shopping company in which Kundra and Shetty are directors and that they failed to pay him Rs 23 lakh, his share in the proceeds from the sale.

In April this year, Bhalotia had registered an FIR at the Kongaon police station against the celebrity couple and two others, under charges of criminal breach of trust, cheating and fraud.

Subsequently, the couple was protected from arrest as they were granted anticipatory bail from a lower court in Thane.

Accordingly the couple has now approached the HC seeking quashing of the FIR through their advocate Aniket Nikam.

The Bench on Monday heard their petition wherein Nikam informed the judges that his clients are no more the directors of the BDTV. He also informed that there was no intention to withhold the amount as alleged by Bhalotia as his clients have already paid Rs 1 crore to him.

Having heard the submissions, Justice More said, “We fail to understand how can the police register such cases where there is a delay in repayment? Let the police reply to this petition. Meanwhile, we direct the police not to file the charge-sheet against the petitioners.”