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Court reserves order on bail of Jacqueline Fernandez, asks ED why it has not arrested actor yet

A Delhi court on Friday rapped the Enforcement Directorate for adopting a pick-and-choose policy, and asked why the agency had not arrested actor Jacqueline Fernandez despite issuing a lookout circular against her in a ₹200 crore money-laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekar.

Special Judge Shailendra Malik, who had earlier granted Fernandez interim bail, reserved the order for Friday on the bail plea of the actor after hearing arguments from the lawyers appearing for Fernandez as well as the ED.
Actor Jacqueline Fernandez at the Patiala House Courts in New Delhi on November 10, 2022.

On the ED’s submission that Fernandez can escape the country easily as she is not short of money, the court questioned why the actor was not arrested so far. The agency told the court that it has issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) on airports to stop the actor from leaving the country.

“Why haven’t you (ED) arrested Jacqueline yet during the investigation despite issuing an LOC? Other accused are in jail. Why adopt a pick-and-choose policy,” the court asked the probe agency.

The accused has sought bail, saying there was no need for her custody since the investigation is already complete and the charge sheet has been filed. The court had on September 26 granted interim bail on a personal bond of ₹50,000.

The court had on August 31 taken cognizance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED and asked Fernandez to appear before the court. Fernandez, who was summoned by the ED several times in connection with the investigation, has been named as an accused for the first time in the supplementary charge sheet.

The ED’s earlier charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet did not mention her as an accused. The documents, however, had mentioned the details of the statements recorded by Fernandez and fellow actor Nora Fatehi.