NEW DELHI– The Supreme Court on Monday declined to quash money laundering proceedings against Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez in connection with the ₹200 crore extortion case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih refused to stay trial court proceedings but granted Fernandez the liberty to approach the apex court again at an appropriate stage.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Fernandez, argued that she could not be prosecuted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) since she had no knowledge that the expensive gifts she received from Chandrashekhar were proceeds of crime. He further contended that Fernandez was wrongly named as an accused despite being listed as a witness in the predicate offence.
The court, however, pointed to its ruling in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India case, which upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) wide investigative powers. “The allegation is that a part of that ₹200 crore came to you as a gift. Nothing has been proved. At the stage of framing of charges, you have to accept what the allegation is,” Justice Datta observed.
Rohatgi maintained that Fernandez herself had been deceived by Chandrashekhar and his aide Pinky Irani, arguing that merely receiving gifts could not amount to money laundering. Still, the bench dismissed her plea, clarifying that observations made by the Delhi High Court— which had earlier rejected her challenge—would not prejudice trial proceedings.
In July, Justice Anish Dayal of the Delhi High Court ruled that the allegations merited trial court scrutiny. The ED has alleged that assets worth ₹7.2 crore linked to Fernandez were proceeds of crime and has attached them. Investigators claim Irani facilitated the delivery of luxury items from Chandrashekhar to the actress.
The ED has filed multiple charge sheets in the case, naming Fernandez as an accused in a supplementary filing. Actress Nora Fatehi, however, was examined only as a witness. Fernandez, 39, has denied wrongdoing and insists she had no role in laundering Chandrashekhar’s illicit wealth.
The Sri Lankan-born actress, who won Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, has been a leading figure in Hindi cinema for more than a decade, with appearances in films, music videos, and television shows. (Source: IANS)
