Actor Jacqueline Fernandez withdraws plea to turn approver in Sukesh Chandrashekhar case

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez Tuesday withdrew a plea filed last month to turn approver in a Rs 200-crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. A day ago, the Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the case, had opposed the plea before Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Court.“…. (Fernandez) remained in regular and sustained contact with Sukesh Chandrashekhar even after having knowledge of his criminal antecedents, who carefully arranged all benefits, gifts and articles for the Applicant out of the ‘proceeds of crime’ involved in the offence of money laundering. This consistent interaction through numerous ways of communication and receipt of benefits negate any claim of being an ‘unwitting victim’ as underlined by the Applicant in the present application and instead highlights her conscious association with the main perpetrator and with the illicit gains,” the ED had said in its plea. Fernandez had been named as a co-accused by the ED for enjoying the ‘proceeds of crime’ allegedly given to her as gifts by Sukesh from the Rs 200 crore. Sukesh allegedly extorted this money from Aditi Singh, the wife of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh. The ED had also submitted in its reply filed on Monday that Fernandez chose to continue to “enjoy the proceeds of crime for herself and her family members, thereby demonstrating a conscious disregard for the source of funds and actively participating in the money laundering process”. The ED case stems from the extortion case filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police in August 2022 against Sukesh for allegedly cheating and extorting money from Aditi by posing as the Union law secretary and calling her with an offer to bail her jailed husband. A former accused or accomplice, who turns a witness to support the case of the prosecution is known as an approver. Under Section 306 of the CrPC, an approver can be granted pardon by the court.Story continues below this ad Before filing an official reply, the ED had also called the actor’s plea “vague” orally before the Judge.