The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea seeking to quash the money laundering case filed against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged ₹200-crore extortion racket involving jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
Justice Anish Dayal, while pronouncing the order, said, “The petition is dismissed.” A detailed judgment is awaited.
Fernandez had approached the court to challenge the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) dated August 8, 2021, the second supplementary charge sheet dated August 17, 2022, and the ongoing proceedings initiated against her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED’s case arises out of an extortion complaint filed by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in August 2022, accusing Chandrashekhar of posing as a Union Law Secretary and defrauding Aditi Singh, wife of former Religare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh, by promising help in securing her husband’s release from jail.
While the EOW is investigating the fraud and impersonation aspects of the case, the ED is probing the money trail and financial transactions arising out of the proceeds of crime. Fernandez has been named as a co-accused in the ED case, although she is a witness in the EOW investigation.
In her petition, the actress maintained that she was a victim of Chandrashekhar’s manipulation and had no knowledge of his criminal background. Her counsel contended that the ED’s case was predicated solely on an assumption that she was aware of his activities through a newspaper article, which should not form the basis of criminal prosecution.
However, opposing the plea, ED’s special counsel Zoheb Hossain argued that Fernandez’s role in the laundering of proceeds of crime was distinct from the EOW’s fraud investigation, and her witness status in one case did not preclude prosecution in the other.
In 2022, Fernandez was granted bail by a trial court in the ED case, with conditions including a personal bond of ₹2 lakh and a surety of equal value.
The case remains one of the most high-profile money laundering investigations involving a Bollywood celebrity, with further proceedings expected in the trial court.
