Delhi court allows Jacqueline Fernandez to travel abroad without prior permission

Fernandez has been a co-accused in the case filed by the ED, however, she has been made a witness in the predicate offence case registered by the EOW of the Delhi police

In a relief to Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, a Delhi court modified the bail conditions allowing her to travel abroad without taking prior permission from the court in connection with the Rs.200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekar.

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez (File Photo)

She is named as an accused in the money laundering case, alongside conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, based extortion case filed by the Delhi police economic offences wing in August last year.

The court of additional sessions judge Shailendra Malik ruled that the court considers her profession as an actor in the Indian film industry who has to travel abroad frequently and in order to grab professional opportunities, she requires to leave the country with short notice.

“...In such a situation, the condition of taking prior permission before leaving the country, becomes cumbersome and may be a reason for losing livelihood,” noted the judge in the order passed on August 10.

Fernandez was granted regular bail in the matter on November 15, 2022, in the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the pre-requisite that she will take permission from the court.

The actor moved the application under section 439(1)(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) seeking modification of the bail conditions on the ground that she is an actor in the Indian film industry and “needs to travel abroad for professional commitments, often on short notice”.

She also told the court that due to the time-consuming process of the court proceedings, she has lost on various opportunities as the organisers have opted to engage other individuals.

Meanwhile, the ED opposed the application stating that the bail conditions exist not only to ensure the presence of the accused but also to avoid “any possibility of fleeing from the judicial process”. It was also argued that the ground that taking permission to travel abroad is a time-consuming process is also unsustainable.

The court, after hearing the arguments from both parties, modified the bail conditions stating that Fernandez would have to intimate the court as well as the federal agency at least three days before travelling abroad and provide the details of her travels like the country she is travelling, duration, places she would be staying and the contact numbers.

The court also said that her passport would be released upon depositing a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) of Rs.50 lakh along with the intimation application and that she would surrender the passport back to the court upon which her FDR would be released.

Fernandez has been a co-accused in the case filed by the ED, however, she has been made a witness in the predicate offence case registered by the EOW of the Delhi police.

Chandrasekhar is currently in prison and under investigation in a ₹200-crore extortion case. Fernandez, who was rumoured to be in a relationship with him, was also been named an accused in the case by the ED.

Chandrashekhar is accused of extorting money from businessmen, politicians, and celebrities.

The agency had alleged that Fernandez had received expensive gifts from Chandrasekhar, including a BMW car. Earlier reports also suggested that Chandrashekhar sent a gift worth over Rs.10 crore to Fernandez while he was in jail.