Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez has suffered a major legal setback as the Delhi High Court dismissed her plea to remove her name from the ₹200 crore money laundering case linked to conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. She had filed a petition requesting that the ongoing criminal proceedings against her be quashed, but the court rejected it, stating she must face trial.
Jacqueline Fernandez’s arguments fail to convince court
Jacqueline Fernandez claimed she was unaware of Sukesh’s involvement in any illegal activities and argued that she received the expensive gifts without knowing about the money laundering. However, the court raised serious questions, asking why she accepted lavish gifts from someone with a known criminal record. Her appeal to cancel the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) supplementary charge sheet and halt trial court proceedings was also denied.
ED charges and court observations
The Enforcement Directorate had earlier filed a charge sheet listing Jacqueline as a recipient of high-value gifts from Sukesh, which they allege were bought using laundered money. The court had reserved its verdict in April after hearing all parties, and now made it clear that she cannot be exempted from trial.
Background of the case involving Sukesh
Sukesh Chandrasekhar is currently in jail for allegedly defrauding the wives of former Ranbaxy promoters Shivinder and Malvinder Singh. According to ED, Sukesh, along with his wife Leena Paulose and other accused, used shell companies to launder the money collected through fraudulent schemes.
ED says Jacqueline was involved
The ED has repeatedly questioned Jacqueline, alleging that she knowingly benefited from Sukesh’s illegal activities. With the High Court refusing to quash the proceedings, Jacqueline will now have to face a full trial and continue cooperating with the investigation.
