Breaking her silence on the ongoing pornographic films case involving her husband Raj Kundra's arrest, actor Shilpa Shetty on Monday, August 2, requested people to respect the family's privacy, especially that of her children, and let the law take its course. Forty-five-year-old Raj Kundra was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch on July 19, in a case which it said was related to alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. His bail application was rejected by a lower court on July 28.
Shetty took to Instagram and posted a note, writing that she has full faith in the Mumbai police and the Indian judiciary. "As a family, we are taking recourse to all our available legal remedies. But, till then I humbly request you - especially as a Mother - to respect our privacy for my children's sake and request you to refrain from commenting on half-baked information without verifying the veracity of the same," the actor, who shares son Viaan (nine) and daughter Samisha (one) with Kundra, wrote in a post.
Her comments come days after the Bombay High Court refused to gag media as requested by the actor, against alleged defamatory articles published against her and family after her husband’s arrest. In an interim application, Shetty had sought for media to be restrained from publishing any "incorrect, false, malicious and defamatory" content, on which the court noted that passing a blanket gag order on the media against reporting anything on the matter shall have a "chilling effect on the freedom of press".
Justice Gautam Patel said there is a judicial limit on what can be construed as good or bad journalism, also observing that the articles referred to by Shetty in her suit do not seem to be defamatory. The actor, who serves on the jury panel of the Sony TV’s dance reality show Super Dancer Chapter 4, has not appeared on it since Kundra was taken into custody.
Shetty was questioned by the police on the matter, who told the officials that she had no idea about the content of the 'Hot Shots' app, through which her husband allegedly distributed pornographic films, according to sources.
In her statement on Monday, Shilpa Shetty also said that she is a "proud law-abiding Indian citizen" and a hardworking professional for the last 29 years. "People have put their faith in me and I've never let anyone down. So, most importantly, I request you to respect my family's and my right to privacy in these times. We don't deserve a media trial. Please let the law take its course. Satyamev Jayate," she added.
The 46-year-old actor said the past few days have been "challenging on every front" and the family has battled a "lot of rumours and accusations."
"A lot of unwarranted aspersions on me cast by the media and (not so) well wishers as well. A lot of trolling/questions posed not only to me but also to my family. My stand, I have not commented yet. And will continue to refrain from doing so on this case as it is subjudice, so please stop attributing false quotes on my behalf. "Reiterating my philosophy of, as a celebrity 'Never complain, never explain.' All I will say is, as it's an on-going investigation, I have full faith in the Mumbai Police and the Indian judiciary," she added.
British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra was booked in a case related to alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps, by the Mumbai Police on July 20.
On Monday, the Bombay High Court had reserved its order on petitions filed by businessman Raj Kundra and his associate Ryan Thorpe challenging their arrest.