NEW DELHI, Jun 11: The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred hearing Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea challenging the framing of charges against her in the ₹200-crore money laundering case after Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra recused himself from the proceedings.
A partial working day bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Atul S. Chandurkar informed counsel appearing for the actor and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that the matter would be listed before another bench.
Explaining his decision, Justice Mishra stated that his son had appeared on behalf of the government in one of the connected proceedings, making it inappropriate for him to continue hearing the case.
“There is some difficulty. In one of the connected matters, my son had appeared on the government side. Post this matter on June 25 before a bench in which one of us is not a member,” the judge observed.
The development comes days after a Delhi court directed the framing of charges against Fernandez, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and several others in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into an alleged money laundering network involving proceeds of crime worth ₹200 crore.
The trial court’s May 30 order also cleared the way for charges to be framed against Chandrashekhar and other accused persons under multiple provisions, including sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), in a separate case investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
Following the order, Fernandez approached the apex court seeking relief against the trial court’s decision. The actor has been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate on multiple occasions during the course of the investigation and was later named as an accused in a supplementary prosecution complaint filed by the agency.
According to the ED, Fernandez remained in contact with Chandrashekhar and allegedly received expensive gifts routed through his associate Pinky Irani. The agency has claimed that these transactions formed part of the broader money laundering operation under investigation.
Investigators have alleged that Chandrashekhar orchestrated a sophisticated criminal enterprise while lodged in prison. The prosecution maintains that he impersonated senior government functionaries and used fabricated identities, spoofed phone calls and encrypted communication platforms to gain the confidence of victims.
The agency’s case is centred on allegations that Chandrashekhar and his associates duped businesswoman Aditi Singh and members of her family into transferring large amounts of money by falsely claiming connections with influential offices, including the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law and Justice.
With Justice Mishra stepping aside, Fernandez’s challenge to the framing of charges will now be considered by a reconstituted bench when the matter comes up for hearing on June 25.