A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday (October 9) issued notice to the ED and has kept the matter for hearing on Thursday (October 10) afternoon.
The couple has been involved in legal proceedings since 2018, when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a case against one Amit Bharadwaj in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme involving crypto assets. In this scheme, the Kunda couple, along with other co-defendants, is accused of defrauding investors of more than Rs 6 crores in Bitcoin.
The petition asserts that the couple has been fully cooperating with the ED, which has filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Additionally, it indicates that the couple has responded to all summons issued by the ED from 2018 to 2024.
Actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra have approached the Bombay High Court to contest an ED notice ordering them to vacate their residence in Mumbai’s Juhu area and a farmhouse in Pune, linked to a money-laundering case.
The applications were presented for consideration on Wednesday before a division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan.
The court directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond and scheduled the matter for further hearing on Thursday.
The petitions contest ED notices dated September 27, which were issued to Ms. Shetty and Mr. Kundra, instructing them to vacate their residence in Mumbai and a farmhouse in Pune within ten days, in relation to a money-laundering investigation associated with an alleged Bitcoin fraud.
Prashant Patil, the couple’s attorney, stated that Ms. Shetty and Mr. Kundra only received the eviction notices on October 3. He described the notices as arbitrary and unlawful, requesting that they be annulled.
The petitions argue that there is no significant urgency necessitating the petitioners to leave their homes, asserting that the issuance of such eviction notices is unwarranted.
“The petitioners are also requesting relief on humanitarian grounds, as the property in question serves as their family residence, where they have lived with their six family members for nearly two decades,” the petitions indicated.
Additionally, the petitions requested the High Court to suspend the enforcement of the eviction notices.
In 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a complaint against Amit Bhardwaj and others concerning an alleged Bitcoin fraud and accusations of money laundering, as stated in the petitions. Notably, neither Shetty nor her husband has been named as defendants in this case.
Throughout its investigation, the ED summoned Mr. Kundra multiple times for questioning. According to the petitions, Kundra complied with each summons and appeared before the agency.
In April 2024, Ms. Shetty and Mr. Kundra received a notice following an order from the ED that provisionally attached their assets, including their residential property in Juhu, which was acquired by Kundra’s father in 2009.
Both Ms. Shetty and Mr. Kundra responded to the notice.
“Nevertheless, in violation of legal provisions, the adjudicating authority upheld the provisional attachment order on September 18, 2024. This order explicitly indicates that the attachment remains in effect only until the trial concludes and is contingent upon its outcome,” the petitions indicated.
The petitioners, Shetty and Kundra, received two notices on October 3, which were dated September 27, 2024, instructing them to vacate their residence and farmhouse, as stated in the petitions.
The petitions asserted that no eviction order or notice may be issued before a conviction occurs.
Additionally, the pleas emphasized that their residential property is unrelated to the scheduled offense or any proceeds of crime.
The petitions also contended that Kundra has no involvement with the alleged fraud.
