On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court set a date for final arguments in Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) charge sheet and Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) related to a money laundering case involving an alleged Rs 200 crore extortion scheme with Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The court has scheduled the matter for September 18.
Justice Anish Dayal, who is overseeing the case, instructed the parties to submit concise arguments. The Special Counsel for the ED was absent during the proceedings. It was noted that the pleadings in the case have been completed.
Senior advocate Siddharth Agrawal, along with advocates Prashant Patil and Shakti Pandey, represented Jacqueline Fernandez. The court has requested the submission of important short arguments from both sides.
The High Court had previously issued a notice to the ED on December 21, 2023, directing them to file a response. Fernandez is seeking the quashing of the ECIR dated August 8, 2021, and the second supplementary charge sheet dated August 17, 2022, filed by the ED, along with any proceedings arising from them.
Earlier, Agrawal raised three legal issues, asserting that these matters should be decided by a Constitutional Court rather than a Trial Court. Despite this, the case remains pending in the Trial Court, which is addressing arguments on the charges. Agrawal indicated that he is not seeking interim relief to avoid delaying the Trial Court proceedings but requested permission to file additional documents deemed crucial for resolving the legal issues.
The High Court granted permission to file these additional documents, subject to their relevance and admissibility at the time of the petition hearing.
Jacqueline Fernandez is implicated in a money laundering case related to the alleged extortion of Rs 200 crore from Aditi Singh. Sukesh Chandrashekhar is also accused in both the extortion and money laundering cases.
