Jacqueline Faces Major Legal Setback in ₹200 Crore Money Laundering Case

Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez suffered a significant legal blow on Thursday when the Delhi High Court dismissed her plea seeking to quash criminal proceedings against her in the ₹200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

Justice Anish Dayal rejected her petition, which also aimed to invalidate the second supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and to halt trial court proceedings.

Background and Legal Arguments
Fernandez’s legal team argued that she was unaware that the expensive gifts she received were proceeds of crime, claiming she had no knowledge of the illicit origins of the money involved. Her lawyers also pointed out that the ED itself never claimed she knew the gifts were illegal.

However, the ED contended that her petition was not legally maintainable, as the trial court had already taken cognisance of the chargesheet and found sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. Importantly, Fernandez had not challenged the trial court’s cognisance order.

About the Case
Sukesh Chandrasekhar is currently in jail, accused of cheating the wives of former Ranbaxy promoters Shivinder and Malvinder Singh out of ₹200 crore. The ED has alleged that he and his wife Leena Paulose used hawala networks and shell companies to launder the funds.

The ED also accused Fernandez of accepting gifts from Sukesh without verifying his background, despite media reports about him. Her lawyers countered that a newspaper article is not legal evidence and that co-accused Pinky Irani had misled her by claiming Sukesh was a scapegoat with political ties.

What’s Next
With the High Court rejecting her plea, the criminal proceedings against Jacqueline Fernandez will now continue in the Delhi trial court.