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ED opposes Jacqueline’s bail plea, says she’s at flight risk
Enforcement Directorate also said that since actress Jacqueline Fernandez has a “deep pocket” and is “economically sound”, she can interfere with ongoing probe.
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez made an “abortive bid” to flee away from India during the investigation in a ₹200 crore alleged extortion case, but was stopped by the immigration authorities due to a Look Out Circular (LoC) issued against her, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a Delhi court on Saturday.
Opposing a plea for regular bail moved by the actress, the central probe agency said that the 27-year-old Sri Lankan native was at “flight risk”.
The agency also said that since Fernandez has a “deep pocket” and is “economically sound”, she can interfere with ongoing probe. ED also said that the actress has allegedly admitted to tampering of evidence by deleting crucial evidence on her phone.
“The applicant appears to be a person with deep pocket/economically sound and in such cases, the chances of adversely affecting the ongoing investigation is more and hence the applicant is unfit to be released on bail…Jacqueline is no ordinary person but a Bollywood actress with huge financial resources & hence high stature & influence,” the agency said in a 26-page submission to the court.
On Saturday, additional session judge Shailendra Malik extended the interim bail granted to the actress, and said that it would consider the regular bail application on November 10. The court also directed ED to provide the charge sheet and relevant documents to all the accused.
The agency submitted that Jacqueline has been non-cooperative during the interrogation and has made disclosures only when confronted with evidence and statements.
“The accused/Jacqueline has never cooperated with the investigation and only when confronted with evidence and statements, she had made disclosure. Fernandez initially did not admit the factum of receiving huge monies and gifts & transferring it to parents, brothers and sisters which has been otherwise established during investigation,” the ED said.
ED has claimed that despite having knowledge about the criminal antecedents of main accused Sukesh Chandrashekhar, she continued to receive expensive gifts from him from the proceeds of crime, not just for herself but also for her family living abroad.
“The amount of knowledge and details she had about Sukesh can in no way make her eligible to be a victim. A victim would, in every situation, cooperate to get justice but evidence on record would show that Sukesh on many instances had tried to assist Jacqueline during the investigation itself….the evidence on record shows that she consciously hid material facts from the prosecution to shield herself as well the accused ered any loss rather she benefitted out of the proceeds of crime,” the ED said.
The agency said that the investigation is still continuing and the prosecution has genuine and reasonable apprehension that the applicant, if enlarged on bail, shall influence and intimate the witnesses asking them to not disclose any information about the ill-gotten money.
Expressing the apprehension that Fernandez may flee from justice and shall not turn up to face trial, if enlarged on bail.
“Further the past conduct of the applicant has been to remove the evidence and hence tampering of evidence cannot be ruled out. It is a very genuine and reasonable apprehension of prosecution that the applicant shall be indulging herself again in the same offence if enlarged on bail and tamper with the evidence in the on-going investigation on the crucial aspects of POC if enlarged on bail”.
It added that Fernandez’s presence may be required for ongoing investigation/further investigation.
In her regular bail plea filed by advocate Patil, Fernandez denied “unity of design with Sukesh” and said that she was herself a victim of the circumstances and criminal acts committed by the conman and his associates.
The petition has said that even though she has never denied receipt of gifts, at no point of time did she had knowledge that these were proceeds of crime, “on account of the deceitful and duplicitous conduct of Sukesh due to which she has suffered, and continues to suffer, tremendous hardship”.
The charge sheet was filed on August 17, 2022, in the ₹200 crore extortion case naming the actress as an accused.
In its charge sheet against Fernandez, the agency has said that the actress consciously chose to overlook the criminal past of conman Sukesh for her lure of money, adding that she was directly-indirectly involved in the ₹200 crore scam of duping Aditi Singh, wife of ex-Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh.
ED said that during investigation they found that both Sukesh and Fernandez were in collusion with each other and tried to support each other during the course of confrontation with the evidence.
On the last date (September 26), the court had granted interim bail to Jacqueline, while also seeking the ED’s response on her regular bail plea.
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