Money laundering case: Court rejects Jacqueline Fernandez's plea to junk case; ED says 'prima facie case made out'
Delhi high court
on Thursday dismissed Bollywood actor
Jacqueline Fernandez
's petition seeking to quash the money laundering case filed against her by the
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) in connection with alleged gifts received from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
Chandrasekhar and his wife Leena Paulose were arrested and are also accused under the MCOCA.
The court, after hearing arguments from both sides, declined to interfere in the ongoing trial proceedings. Justice Anish Dayal pronounced the order, while the detailed judgment will be uploaded in due course.
Jacqueline Fernandez had challenged the second supplementary chargesheet filed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), maintaining that she was an innocent victim manipulated by Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is accused of orchestrating a Rs 200 crore extortion racket from prison.
Appearing for Fernandez, Senior Advocate Sidharth Aggarwal argued that being a celebrity should not render someone automatically liable. He pointed out that Sukesh was introduced to her as a businessman and contended that the ED's interpretation of her association as money laundering was flawed. 'Today, I am paying the price of being a celebrity,' Aggarwal said during the hearing.
He also questioned the ED's logic that anyone receiving money from someone accused of a crime could be liable under the PMLA — even if they were unaware of the criminal origin of the funds.
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Aggarwal added that Fernandez had no knowledge of Sukesh's background at the time.
However, the ED countered that Fernandez knowingly accepted luxury gifts from Sukesh despite having learned of his criminal past. ED counsel Zoheb Hossain said Fernandez continued to benefit from proceeds of crime and that her petition was merely an attempt to derail the trial.
The ED insisted that its probe was independent from the police case and that the ongoing trial had already seen a special court take cognisance of the charges, establishing a prima facie case.
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