The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez seeking to quash the ₹200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s July order dismissing Fernandez’s petition, but granted her liberty to approach the special court at the stage of framing charges.
Court’s observations
During the hearing, Justice Datta referred to the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary judgment, which upheld the constitutionality of provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He remarked:
“The allegation is that it was given to you as gifts. Nothing has been proved. At the stage of framing of charges, you have to accept what is the allegation. Take it as, they were two very close friends, and now if one friend gives something to the other, ultimately if it is found that the other person is involved in a predicate offence, it is very difficult.”
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Fernandez, argued that the offence of abetment under Section 3 of PMLA requires knowledge of the crime. He contended that Fernandez was duped into believing Sukesh was a successful businessman and could not have known that the gifts came from criminal proceeds.
Background of the case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arraigned Fernandez as the tenth accused in its supplementary complaint. She is accused of knowingly receiving luxury gifts and financial benefits from Chandrasekhar, who is alleged to have conned high-profile individuals using illegal access to technology inside Tihar Jail.
Fernandez has maintained that she is an “innocent victim,” pointing out that she was originally listed as a prosecution witness in the predicate offence of extortion.
Supreme Court order
The apex court clarified that the Delhi High Court’s observations dismissing her petition would not prejudice the trial court. It said:
“Dismissed with liberty to approach the Court. The observations made in the impugned judgment were only for the purpose of disposing of the petition. At the time of framing of charges, the special court shall be at liberty to hear the petitioner and pass the order.”
The ruling means Fernandez will now have to face trial in the money laundering case, where the ED alleges that gifts she accepted were proceeds of crime generated by Chandrasekhar’s extortion racket.
