The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Delhi High Court order dismissing Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) lodged against her in connection with the ₹200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Fernandez, “We will not interfere at this stage.”
Fernandez had moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court’s July 3 order, which had rejected her petition seeking quashing of the ECIR. The petition, filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi, argued that continuation of proceedings against her was unwarranted.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had named Fernandez as an accused in its money laundering probe against Chandrasekhar. The actor has already appeared before the agency for questioning multiple times in connection with the case.
The case stems from a complaint by Delhi Police, which booked Chandrasekhar for allegedly duping Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, the spouses of former Ranbaxy promoters, of ₹200 crore.
Chandrasekhar, already facing several criminal cases, is accused of impersonating government officials and using high-level contacts to defraud prominent individuals. Fernandez has been accused of receiving expensive gifts and financial benefits from him, allegedly sourced from the proceeds of crime.
The Supreme Court’s refusal means that Fernandez will have to face the ongoing money laundering proceedings, with the ECIR against her remaining in effect.
