Money laundering case: SC judge recuses from Jacqueline's plea hearing
What's the story
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra of the Supreme Court on Thursday recused himself from hearing actor Jacqueline Fernandez's plea challenging a Delhi court order. The bench, also comprising Justice Atul S Chandurkar, informed Fernandez's counsel and the Enforcement Directorate that the matter would be referred to another bench. Mishra explained, "There is some difficulty...In one of the connected matters...my son had appeared on the government side...Post on June 25 before a bench in which one of us is not a member."
Case background
Charges framed against Fernandez, Sukesh Chandrashekhar, 15 others
The Delhi court had ordered framing charges against Fernandez, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, and 15 others in a ₹200cr money laundering case on May 30. The trial court also directed charges to be framed against Chandrashekhar and 20 others for various offenses under the stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) in another case registered by the city's special cell police.
Accusations
ED named Fernandez as accused in chargesheet
Fernandez, who has been summoned several times by the ED in connection with the investigation, was named as an accused for the first time in a supplementary chargesheet filed by the agency. The ED alleged that she was in constant touch with Chandrashekhar and had received valuable gifts from him through his associate, Pinky Irani.
Criminal activities
Chandrashekhar allegedly ran organized criminal network from jail
The prosecution claimed that Chandrashekhar was running an organized criminal network from inside the jail and impersonating senior government officials, including those from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Law and Justice. He allegedly used spoofed calls, encrypted applications, and fabricated identities to induce complainant Aditi Singh and her family members to part with huge sums of money. Meanwhile, on the work front, Fernandez will soon be seen in Welcome to the Jungle.