Delhi HC dismisses Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea for quashing of money laundering case against her
Sukesh Chandrashekhar is the prime accused in the 200 crore money laundering case and Jacqueline Fernandez was made an accused in the said case after ED filed a supplementary charge sheet naming her as an accused.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday (July 3) dismissed a plea filed by actor Jacqueline Fernandez seeking quashing of money laundering case against her involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
Justice Anish Dayal dismissed the plea of Fernandez, who sought quashing of a First Information Report (FIR) against her in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving Chandrasekhar and quashing of the second supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and proceedings pending before a trial court.
Chandrashekhar is the prime accused in the 200 crore money laundering case
Chandrashekhar is the prime accused in the 200 crore money laundering case and Fernandez was made an accused in the said case after ED filed a supplementary charge sheet naming her as an accused.
ED opposed plea of Fernandez
The ED opposed the plea of Fernandez on the ground of maintainability and said that a Delhi special court has taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed by it observing that a prima facie case is made out to be proceeded with, and there is no challenge to the cognisance order.
What did ED tell High Court?
The ED told the High Court that Fernandez was knowingly involved in the possession and use of proceeds of crime of Chandrashekhar and that she was aware of the criminal antecedents of Chandrashekhar and still the actor continued to receive, enjoy and possess proceeds of crime for herself and her family members.
The ED has alleged that Fernandez never revealed the truth and concealed facts regarding the financial transactions with Chandrasekhar until she was confronted with evidence and said that she tried to cover up her conduct initially in her statements made by claiming that she has been the innocent victim of Chandrasekhar but she was unable to provide any substantial material to establish victimisation by Chandrashekhar during investigation.
What did Fernandez tell High Court?
Fernandez told the High Court that that evidence filed by the ED would prove that she is an innocent victim of maliciously targeted attack of Chandrashekhar and that there is absolutely no indication that she had any involvement whatsoever in aiding Chandrashekhar to launder his purportedly ill-gotten money and hence, she cannot be prosecuted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). She further stated that the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed by the ED against her confirmed that nowhere it has been alleged that she had the knowledge about Chandrashekhar’s nefarious activities of extorting money from complainant Aditi Singh.