Raj Kundra has to surrender passport, cannot leave India without court approval and has to intimate change of address

MUMBAI: Even though NRI businessman Raj Kundra walked out of the Arthur Road Jail, a free man on Tuesday morning, he cannot be really said to be free as there are several conditions and restrictions imposed upon him by the trial court.

The Addl. CMM’s court which enlarged him on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000/- has put several restrictions on him, hindering his free movement.

Some of the conditions or terms imposed upon Kundra by the Addl Chief Metropolitan Magistrate SB Bhajipale state that Kundra has to surrender his passport to the investigating officer (IO), he cannot leave India without the permission of the court and he has to immediately intimate any change in his residential address and phone number to the IO.

The court in its bail order noted that Kundra was ready (as submitted by his lawyers in their plea) to abide by the bail conditions laid down by the court to secure his presence during trial and the investigation was completed (the chargesheet was filed on September 15).

The court relied on an apex court order, where it had observed that an accused cannot be kept behind bars for an inconsiderable period when the investigation is completed. The magistrate said in the order that, only on the grounds that further probe is ongoing, the accused cannot be kept behind bars till the conclusion of the trial. It added that the offences do not provide for imprisonment for more than seven years.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate SB Bhajipale further noted that the element of inducement, which is the prime ingredient of cheating, appears to be missing from the case of the prosecution. The order stated that it cannot be said that there is a possibility of tampering of evidence, as the investigating officer has taken care to record the statements of the witnesses before a magistrate. Moreover, the server, laptops and mobiles of Viaan Industries are already in the officer’s custody.

The court referred to the statement of witness Megha Jaiswal, an accountant at Kundra’s firm Viaan Industries Ltd. It said it appears her statement was recorded to connect the accused with the transactions of Viaan Industries Ltd. “However, from her statement, it can be gathered that transactions took place between the companies Kenrin (UK-based and owned by Kundra’s brother-in-law Pardeep Bakshi) and HotShots. Out of the said transactions, there was an exchange of some amount. However, the exchange of amount is not an offence levelled against the accused in the present chargesheet.”

The crime branch has accused Kundra’s firm Armsprime Media Private Limited of developing the HotShots application and broadcasting obscene content. The application was later sold to his brother-in-law Pardeep Bakshi’s UK-based firm Kenrin Ltd. However, Kundra managed the application for a fee or royalty from his Mumbai office.

The 45-year-old, through his advocate Prashant Patil and Swapnil Ambure, prayed for bail, saying he was falsely implicated in the case.

Kundra’s bank accounts in India are frozen and he cannot withdraw or transfer funds from his Indian accounts. He can ofcourse apply to the court for de-freezing of his accounts upon submission of a bank guarantee or can request the court for permission to withdraw some amounts for his expenses.

Kundra will have to attend the court regularly and cannot abscond, failing which his bail could be canceled, the order noted.