New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez to withdraw her special leave petition that challenged a Delhi court order directing the framing of criminal charges against her in a ₹200-crore money laundering case. A vacation bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi accepted the request from the actress’s legal counsel, granting her the liberty to pursue alternative legal remedies available under the law before the appropriate trial forum.
The legal challenge stemmed from a May 30 decision by a Special PMLA Court at Patiala House Courts, which concluded that a prima facie case of money laundering existed against Fernandez, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, and 15 other co-accused. Following that decision, the trial court formally framed charges on June 3, setting the stage for a full trial under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Supreme Court hearing on Thursday proceeded after Supreme Court Judge Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra recused himself from the matter on June 11, noting that his son had previously represented the government in a related proceeding.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chandrashekhar operated an organized criminal network from inside prison by using spoofed calls, encrypted applications, and fabricated identities to impersonate high-ranking government officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Home Ministry. The prosecution alleges that he extorted more than ₹200 crore from complainant Aditi Singh and subsequently layered and transferred the funds through shell entities and hawala channels. Investigators named Fernandez in a supplementary charge sheet, asserting that she remained in regular contact with Chandrashekhar and knowingly accepted luxury items, jewelry, and foreign fund transfers worth approximately ₹5.71 crore through an associate, Pinky Irani, despite being aware of his criminal antecedents.
