Delhi court grants bail to Jacqueline Fernandes in money laundering case

A Delhi Court on Tuesday granted bail to Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez in the Rs 200-crore money laundering case.

She is involved in a case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

The order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik, who had reserved the decision last week.

The actor was summoned by the court in August after cognisance was taken of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the agency. Fernandez was named for the first time as an accused in the supplementary chargesheet.

On September 26, the court granted her interim protection from arrest.

During the arguments on November 11, on ED's submission that Fernandez can escape the country easily as she is not short of money, the court questioned why the actor was not arrested so far.

The agency had told the court that it has issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) on airports to stop the actor from leaving the country.

The accused has sought bail on the ground that there was no need for her custody since the investigation is already complete and the charge sheet has been filed.

The court had on September 26 granted interim bail to her on a personal bond of Rs 50,000.

The ED's earlier charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet did not mention her as an accused. The documents, however, mentioned the details of the statements recorded by Fernandez and fellow actor Nora Fatehi. 

 

(With inputs from PTI, Live Law)