The Bombay High Court on Wednesday told Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband, Raj Kundra, that they must either deposit Rs 60 crore or provide a continuous bank guarantee from a nationalised bank if they hope to have the Lookout Circular (LOC) against them lifted.
The couple had requested permission to travel to the United Kingdom to be with Raj Kundra’s ailing father, whose health has reportedly worsened. He has been diagnosed with a long-term and unexplained iron-ammonia deficiency. This condition has caused serious complications, blood loss, and worsening breathlessness.
Doctors have recommended either a repeat capsule endoscopy or a double-balloon enteroscopy. The couple asked the court to allow them to travel before 20th January 2026, emphasising the urgent medical nature of the situation.
Senior Advocate Abad Ponda, representing Karan and Shilpa, argued against the need to deposit the full amount. He suggested that a guarantee or another reasonable option should be enough. He emphasized that the proposed trip was only for medical reasons. Even so, the bench stuck to its position, stating that the full Rs 60 crore must be deposited if the LOC is to be lifted.
This legal battle is part of an ongoing cheating case filed by the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing. Last month, the couple moved the court to quash the Rs 60-crore case, seeking a direction that no chargesheet be filed and no coercive action be taken against them until the matter is resolved.
As per the report, the complaint, lodged by Deepak Kothari, alleges that between 2015 and 2023, the couple persuaded him to invest Rs 60 crore in their company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, but misused the funds for personal benefit.
Shilpa and Karan, however, insist that the FIR was based on “a false and distorted set of facts” and was “maliciously filed with an ulterior and malafide motive to extort money.” They maintain that any losses suffered were merely business setbacks, not the result of fraud or criminal conspiracy.
With the court standing firm on its LOC conditions, the couple will need to comply if they wish to travel abroad. The case continues to draw widespread attention, given the high-profile nature of the individuals involved and the scale of the alleged financial dispute.
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