Jacqueline Fernandez gets no relief from SC in money laundering case (Lead)

New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea filed by Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez seeking to quash money laundering proceedings initiated against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Rs 200 crore extortion case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih refused to order a stay on the trial proceedings but granted liberty to the actress to approach the court at an appropriate stage.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Fernandez, argued that she could not be prosecuted under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), since she had no knowledge that the gifts received from Chandrashekhar were proceeds of crime.

Rohtagi added that she was being wrongly implicated in the money laundering case despite being named as a witness in the predicate offence.

The Justice Datta-led Bench, referring to the apex court's judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India case, which upheld the wide powers of the ED, observed that allegations at the stage of framing of charges must be accepted as they stand.

"The allegation is that a part of that Rs 200 crore came to you as a gift. Nothing has been proved. At the stage of framing of charges, you have to accept what the allegation is," it said.

Rohatgi responded that mere acceptance of gifts could not amount to money laundering, adding that Fernandez herself had been duped by Chandrashekhar and his aide Pinky Irani.

The apex court, however, said it was not inclined to entertain the matter and dismissed the special leave petition (SLP) with liberty to approach the court at an appropriate stage. It clarified that observations of the Delhi High Court - which had earlier rejected Fernandez’s challenge - would not prejudice the trial court proceedings.

In July, a single-judge Bench of Justice Anish Dayal of the Delhi High Court had declined to quash the proceedings, holding that allegations required examination before the trial court. The ED has claimed that assets worth Rs 7.2 crore linked to Fernandez were "proceeds of crime" and had attached them during the investigation.

The federal anti-money laundering agency has alleged that Chandrashekhar's aide Irani facilitated the delivery of luxury gifts to Fernandez on his behalf.

The ED has filed multiple charge sheets in the case. In its supplementary charge sheet, it named Fernandez as an accused, while another Bollywood personality, Nora Fatehi, was examined as a witness. However, Fernandez maintained that she had no role in laundering Chandrashekhar’s alleged illegal wealth.

The 39-year-old Sri Lankan actress, who entered Bollywood after winning the Miss Universe Sri Lanka crown in 2006, has been a prominent figure in Hindi cinema for over a decade, also featuring in music videos and reality shows.

--IANS

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