Jacqueline Fernandez has challenged the Delhi High Court order refusing to quash the ED case against her in the Rs 215-crore scam linked to conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The Supreme Court will hear her plea on September 22.
New Delhi: Actor Jacqueline Fernandez has now moved the Supreme Court of India, challenging the order of the Delhi High Court that refused to cancel the Rs 215-crore money laundering case connected to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih will hear her plea on Monday, September 22.
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The matter dates back to July 3, when the Delhi High Court dismissed Fernandez’s petition where she had sought cancellation of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) case against her.
The High Court had then made it clear that
“whether the accused had actually committed a crime could only be determined by the trial court.”
Jacqueline Fernandez has consistently maintained her innocence. She has
“vehemently rejected all allegations against her, saying they were false and that she had no knowledge of Chandrashekhar’s criminal history.”
The ED, however, has formally named the actor as a co-accused in the Rs 215-crore money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
According to the chargesheet filed by the agency on August 17, 2022, Fernandez allegedly accepted high-value gifts such as jewellery, luxury clothes, cars and other items worth around Rs 7 crore.
The agency alleged that
“despite knowing about Chandrashekhar’s involvement in criminal activities, Fernandez allegedly continued to receive expensive gifts such as jewellery, clothes, vehicles and other things from him worth Rs 7 crore.”
In her earlier petition before the Delhi High Court, Fernandez had not only asked for the case filed by the ED to be cancelled, but also questioned the trial court’s order that had taken official notice of the chargesheet filed against her.
The Enforcement Directorate has also presented more claims against the actor.
According to the agency,
“Fernandez failed to verify claims made by Chandrashekhar while searching about him online.”
The ED further submitted that
“Fernandez admitted to deleting data from her mobile phone after learning of Chandrashekhar’s arrest.”
It was also alleged by the ED that
“she initially concealed details of her financial transactions with Chandrasekhar and only disclosed them when confronted with evidence.”
Importantly, the High Court made no decision about whether these allegations were true or false. However, it concluded that
“these circumstances do not justify the cancellation of the case at this stage.”
With the Supreme Court now set to hear Fernandez’s challenge, the case will once again bring under focus the long-running investigation into one of India’s most high-profile money laundering matters, involving claims of fraud worth more than Rs 200 crore.
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