The Bombay High Court has rejected a plea from actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, seeking the suspension of a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against them in connection with an alleged ₹60 crore fraud case. The couple sought the court's permission to travel to Phuket, Thailand, for a family vacation between October 2 and 5, but the court denied them interim relief.
The LOC was issued by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police due to the couple's frequent international travel. The EOW is investigating a case where Shetty and Kundra are accused of cheating.
According to the complaint, businessman Deepak Kothari, Director of UY Industries Pvt. Ltd., alleged that between 2015 and 2023, Shetty and Kundra convinced him to invest ₹60.48 crore in their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd. Kothari claimed the funds were used for personal benefits, and Shetty had issued a personal guarantee against the investment. An FIR was registered against the couple in August 2025 at the Juhu police station.
Advocates Niranjan Mundargi and Keral Mehta, representing Shetty and Kundra, argued that the couple had traveled overseas multiple times in the past, even with a previous case registered against them in 2021, and had always returned to cooperate with investigations. They contended that the couple should be allowed to travel while the probe continues. Kundra's counsel also stated that the court had allowed the couple to travel on 12 occasions between 2022 and 2025 and that Kundra has cooperated with the Mumbai police and faced summons.
The bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad was not convinced by the arguments. The court directed Public Prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh to file a reply to the couple's plea and scheduled the next hearing for October 8. Deshmukh urged the court not to grant relief, stating that the couple has two serious criminal cases pending against them.
In their petition, Shetty and Kundra disclosed upcoming international travel plans for work and personal reasons. These included a work trip to Los Angeles from October 21-24, followed by travel to Colombo and the Maldives from October 26-29 to expand their hospitality business, Hotel Bastian. They also requested permission to visit London and Dubai from December 20, 2025, to January 6, 2026, to visit Kundra's parents.
Kundra was previously arrested in July 2021 on charges related to creating and publishing pornographic content on mobile apps. In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money laundering case against him concerning the production and circulation of pornography, allegations he denies.
