New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition of Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez, seeking to reduce the money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the alleged gifts received from Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Chandrashekhar and his wife Leena Paulos were arrested and were also accused under MCOCA.The court refused to intervene in the ongoing trial proceedings, after hearing arguments from both sides. Justice Anish Dayal pronounced the order, while the detailed decision will be uploaded in the appointed time.Jacqueline Fernandez challenged the second supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED under the prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA), saying that she was an innocent victim who was manipulated by Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is accused of organizing a racket of Rs 200 crore from jail.Looking for Fernandez, senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal argued that being a celebrity should not be automatically responsible. He said that Sukesh was introduced as a businessman and said that the interpretation of the ED’s association as money laundering was flawed. “Today, I am paying the price of being a celebrity,” Aggarwal said during the hearing.He also questioned the ED’s argument that anyone who receives money from someone accused of crime can be responsible under the PMLA – even if they are unaware of the criminal origin of money. Aggarwal said that Fernandez had no knowledge of Sukesh’s background at that time.However, the ED said that Fernandez accepted luxury gifts from Sukesh despite deliberately knowing about his criminal past. ED lawyer Zoheb Hussain said that Fernandez continued to benefit from the income of the crime and his petition was only an attempt to derail the case.The ED insisted that its investigation was independent of the police case and the ongoing trial had already seen a particular court taking cognizance of the allegations, establishing a prima facie case.
