New Delhi, November 14 – Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez’s legal team argued in the Delhi High Court that she was unaware of the criminal origins of gifts she received, which are allegedly linked to a Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. Fernandez is challenging the charges filed against her in this high-profile case.
During the hearing, Justice Anish Dayal questioned whether adults have a duty to know the source of the gifts they receive. Jacqueline’s counsel, led by Senior Advocate Siddharth Agrawal, argued that Fernandez did not know that the gifts from Chandrashekar were acquired through illegal means. “It is not the case of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that she knew these were proceeds of crime,” Agrawal stated.
The defense further argued that while Fernandez came across a newspaper article in February 2019 linking Chandrashekar to criminal activity, she cut off contact afterward, unaware that the gifts were part of the alleged proceeds of crime.
The ED alleges that Fernandez ignored the article’s warning and continued accepting gifts. However, her counsel argued that the article itself does not constitute legal evidence and insisted she was convinced by co-accused Pinky Irani that Chandrashekar was well-connected in political circles.
The case is set for further arguments on November 26.