In a major relief for actress Jacqueline Fernandez, a Delhi court on Tuesday granted her bail in the money laundering case linked to conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. She will be granted bail on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and one surety in the like amount, ANI reported.
The court had, on November 11, extended interim protection for the actress till Tuesday.
On the Enforcement Directorate's submission that Jacqueline can escape the country easily, the court questioned why she was not arrested so far. "Why haven't you (ED) arrested Jacqueline yet during the investigation despite issuing an LOC (look out notice)? Other accused are in jail. Why adopt a pick-and-choose policy, the court asked the probe agency.
Jacqueline had sought bail, saying there was no need for her custody since the investigation is already complete and the charge sheet has been filed. The actress, who was questioned multiple times by the probe agency, was named as an accused in the supplementary charge-sheet recently.
According to the ED, the actor accepted gifts worth crores from Sukesh while he was in the Tihar Jail and was being investigated for money laundering. Sukesh is accused of cheating many people, including high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh.
In its charge-sheet, the ED said the actress is "directly or indirectly involved in the proceeds of crime."
Jacqueline consistently shifted her stance with regard to the gifts being received by her and her relatives from Sukesh, the agency noted in its charge-sheet. The ED in April provisionally attached Rs 7.27 crore funds of the actress under the PMLA apart from Rs 15 lakh in cash.
-with PTI inputs
