The Bombay High Court on Tuesday made a light-hearted remark while hearing actor Shilpa Shetty’s request to travel abroad, asking if she would consider turning an “approver” against her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, in the ongoing ₹60-crore cheating case.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad made the comment during the hearing of Shetty’s plea seeking temporary suspension of a Look-Out Circular (LOC) that prevents her from leaving India.

Her counsel, advocates Niranjan Mundargi and Keral Mehta, informed the bench that Shetty had been invited by popular YouTuber MrBeast to take part in an event in Los Angeles. They added that her travel was planned from October 22 to 27, and that she would be accompanied by her son, while her mother and daughter would remain in Mumbai.

“Only the second applicant (Shetty) wishes to travel abroad for five days. She has no pending cases and is seeking permission solely for work purposes,” Mundargi told the court.

Opposing the plea, the complainant’s lawyers, Yusuf Iqbal and Zain Shroff, argued that Shetty had earlier sought permission to visit Colombo for leisure around the same time, and that her current request was merely a revised version of the earlier one, now framed as a “professional trip.”

The bench questioned the absence of a formal work agreement or documentary proof linking her visit to an official engagement. Mundargi explained that such a contract could only be signed once the court granted permission for her to travel.

At this point, Chief Justice Chandrashekhar quipped, “Why don’t you become an approver against Accused No. 1?”—a remark that drew laughter in court.
Mundargi responded with humour, “Tomorrow the papers will publish this line like last time.”
“So be it,” the Chief Justice replied with a smile.

In criminal law, an approver is an accused person who turns witness against co-accused in exchange for leniency or a pardon.

The bench has reserved its decision and will hear the matter again on October 16.

Mundargi further submitted that Shetty had fully cooperated with investigators and faced no direct allegations, apart from being a director in one of Kundra’s companies and having received some funds from him.

The case pertains to an alleged ₹60-crore fraud involving Raj Kundra and his associates, who are accused of misleading investors through dubious business dealings. The investigation remains ongoing.