New Delhi, 15 November 2022: A Delhi court on Tuesday has granted actor Jacqueline Fernandez bail in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekar.
The actor was granted bail by Judge Shailender Malik on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of the same sum.
Previously, Fernandez has been charged with profiting from a crime in which conman Chandrashekhar is believed to have forced Aditi Singh, the wife of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh, to hand over Rs 200 crore.
The judge had earlier cautioned ED not to use a “pick and choose approach” during the bail arguments, asking the agency why it had not arrested her and why it was applying different standards in this case. Although a thorough order is still pending.
Senior attorney Sidharth Aggarwal, representing Fernandez stated that his client had cooperated with the inquiry and that the accusations that she had fled the country and tampered with witnesses were unfounded.
He had questioned whether the situation needed to change now after pointing out that the supplementary charge sheet in the case had been submitted without her arrest. He informed the court that the “prosecutor agency has me without any protection” and has the “freedom to ask me any question.”
However, the Special Public Prosecutor Shailesh N Pathak opposed her bail, arguing that the department was looking into a money laundering case worth Rs 200 crore, had already seized Rs 7.1 crore in this case, and may continue to seize more property as part of their probe.
When Pathak was finished with his testimony, he concluded by telling the jury, “Despite knowing Sukesh, she was so deeply involved and lured by the financial strength of Sukesh and proceeded in those illicit acts and relished the process of crime. The 7.1 billion rupees are connected. There is a good likelihood we will be able to attach more and more property.”
