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Jacqueline’s bail petition hearingpushed to nov 15
New Delhi A Delhi court on Friday said it will pronounce actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s regular bail plea in connection with a ₹200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar on November 15
New Delhi A Delhi court on Friday said it will pronounce actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s regular bail plea in connection with a ₹200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar on November 15.
Special Judge Shailendra Malik said the order was not ready and extended the interim protection granted to Fernandez, a Sri Lankan national, till Tuesday.
The court on Thursday had reserved its order after hearing arguments from lawyers appearing for the actor as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
During the arguments, the court had questioned the central agency for deciding to not arrest Fernandez during the investigation of the case. “Why haven’t you (ED) arrested Jacqueline yet during the investigation despite issuing an LOC? Other accused are in jail…Why are you putting different criteria?” the special judge had said.
“You can’t have a pick and choose policy. There must be reasons for not arresting (an accused),” the court remarked.
Responding to the court’s poser, advocate Shailesh N Pathak, appearing for the agency, said that a Lookout Circular (LoC) was already open against the actor and so the Investigating Officer (IO) did not exercise his power of arrest.
The observations and exchange happened after the counsel appearing for ED opposed Fernandez’s bail plea, saying that she can escape the country easily as she is not short of money.
However, the actor’s lawyer Prashant Patil told the court that his client has not been arrested so far, adding that she has cooperated with the probe and has appeared before the agency every time she was summoned for questioning.
The counsel said that there was no need for her custody since the investigation is already complete and the charge sheet has been filed.
Fernandez, who was summoned by the ED several times in connection with the investigation, has been named as an accused in a supplementary charge sheet filed on August 17.
The agency has said that the actress consciously chose to overlook Chandrashekhar’s criminal past for her lure of money, adding that she and the alleged conman were in collusion and tried to support each other when confronted with evidence.
On September 26, the court granted Fernandez interim bail on a personal bond of ₹50,000.
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