Bombay High Court rejects Shilpa Shetty’s plea to cancel lookout notice in Rs60 crore fraud case

Dubai: Bollywood actor and fitness queen Shilpa Shetty’s request to cancel a lookout notice issued against her in connection with a Rs60-crore fraud case involving her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, has been dismissed by the Bombay High Court.

Shetty told the court she was merely a nominal director with no active role in Kundra’s company. However, according to a reports in Times Of India, the division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad denied her plea, remarking, “If you wish to travel abroad, first become a government witness.”

According to a News18 report, the bench directed Shetty to file a written affidavit by October 16.

If you claim no connection with the company, get your husband Raj Kundra to sign an affidavit to that effect,” the court said. It also made clear that both must first repay the full Rs60 crore allegedly owed to the complainant before seeking any further relief.

“The fraud case is worth Rs60 crore—pay it first,” the judges stated.

The allegations stem from a complaint by businessman Deepak Kothari, who claims he was cheated of approximately Rs60 crore through loans and investments made in Best Deal TV Private Limited, a now-defunct company co-founded by Shetty and Kundra.

The investments, spanning from 2015 to 2023, were allegedly misused for personal gain.

Raj Kundra told the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) that the company, which sold household and electronic goods, suffered massive losses following demonetisation and was unable to repay the loans.

He has been questioned twice, while Shetty was interrogated at her home for over four hours on October 4.

The couple sought the withdrawal of the lookout notice to travel abroad for work and leisure, but the court refused. The judges observed that while the duo has not been arrested due to their cooperation, any future relief hinges on the repayment of the disputed amount.