New Delhi [India], November 14 (HBTV): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday heard partial arguments on behalf of Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who has challenged the charge sheet filed against her in the INR 200 crore money laundering case.

It was argued that she was not involved in the offense of money laundering and was unaware that the gifts she received were part of the alleged proceeds of crime.

During the hearing, Justice Anish Dayal raised a query: 'Whether there is a duty upon an adult person to know the source of a gift one receives.'

The matter is listed for further arguments on November 26.

Senior advocate Siddharth Agrawal, along with Prashant Patil and Shakti Pandey, appeared for Jacqueline Fernandez. Agrawal argued that she did not know the gifts she received were part of the proceeds of crime. He emphasized that she was unaware the gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekar were allegedly bought with money extorted from Aditi Singh.

'It is also not the case of the ED that she was aware the gifts she received were part of the proceeds of crime,' the senior counsel argued.

He submitted that while there may have been an omission on her part, it was not an illegal omission and therefore not actionable in law.

The ED has alleged that Jacqueline did not verify a newspaper article about Sukesh Chandrasekar and continued to receive gifts from him.

It was submitted that Jacqueline Fernandez came across the newspaper article in February 2019; however, a newspaper article is not evidence.

She was reportedly convinced by co-accused Pinky Irani that Sukesh had significant political connections and was a political fixer who received calls from the Home Ministry office. Irani argued that Sukesh was made a scapegoat because of his political connections, according to the senior advocate.

It was also submitted that, after coming across the newspaper article, Jacqueline stopped communicating with Sukesh Chandrasekar. However, she remained unaware that the gifts she received were part of the proceeds of the crime and was not involved in money laundering.   

(ANI)