The Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday extended interim protection granted to actor Jacqueline Fernandez till November 10 in connection with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case related to ₹200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekar and others. Hearing on regular bail and other pending applications have been scheduled for November 10.
The court also directed the ED to provide a charge sheet and other relevant documents to all parties.
The court was scheduled to hear the regular bail plea of the Bollywood actor. On the last date of the hearing, Jacqueline was granted interim bail in the matter. Fernandez appeared at the court along with her lawyer Prashant Patil for the hearing.
The interim bail was granted following the court's order for the ED to file a reply to the star's bail application.
On August 17, a supplementary charge sheet filed by the probe agency in the case against Chandrashekar in a Delhi court mentioned the name of Fernandez as an accused.
According to ED's earlier charge sheet, Fernandez and another actor Nora Fatehi examined and stated that they got top models of BMW cars, the most expensive gifts from the accused.
ED charge sheet stated that “during the investigation, statements of Jacqueline Fernandez were recorded on August 30, 2021, and October 10, 2021. Jacqueline stated she received gifts viz three designer bags from Gucci, Chanel, and two Gucci outfits for gym wear. A pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi-coloured stones, two Hermes bracelets. She also received a Mini Cooper which she returned”.
{{/usCountry}}ED charge sheet stated that “during the investigation, statements of Jacqueline Fernandez were recorded on August 30, 2021, and October 10, 2021. Jacqueline stated she received gifts viz three designer bags from Gucci, Chanel, and two Gucci outfits for gym wear. A pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi-coloured stones, two Hermes bracelets. She also received a Mini Cooper which she returned”.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, 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 plea 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”.
“In fact, Jacqueline is another victim of the criminal acts committed by the main accused and his associates, who consistently lied about his real identity and exercised undue influence over the applicant’s personal and professional life either by showering her (and her family) with expensive gifts or claiming that he had done so I would do so, without ever mentioning their source,” the bail plea read, adding that she was “misled” in accepting the gifts.