Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez has officially withdrawn her Special Leave Petition (SLP) from the Supreme Court, in which she challenged the proceedings initiated against her in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) high-profile Rs 200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
A Bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi permitted the actor to withdraw the petition on Thursday, June 25, 2026, granting her the liberty to seek appropriate legal remedies before the trial court.
The actor’s decision to withdraw her plea marks a significant shift in her legal strategy. Previously, she had moved the Supreme Court to contest an order by a Delhi trial court that formally framed money laundering charges against her on May 30, 2026. The trial court had observed that there was sufficient prima facie material on record to proceed with the charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
With this withdrawal, the case against Fernandez will continue to progress before the Patiala House Court, where she has already pleaded “not guilty” and expressed her intent to contest the allegations during the full-scale trial. The matter is now scheduled for further proceedings before the trial court on July 16, 2026.
The proceedings reached the Supreme Court after previous attempts by the actor to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court were unsuccessful.
The hearing on June 25 followed a brief procedural delay earlier this month. On June 11, Supreme Court Judge Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra recused himself from hearing the actor’s plea, disclosing that his son had previously appeared for the government in a connected matter. Consequently, the case was reassigned to the Bench of Justices Nagarathna and Bagchi.
The ED’s case stems from a complaint filed by Aditi Singh, the wife of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh. The agency alleges that Sukesh Chandrashekhar orchestrated an elaborate extortion syndicate from within jail, impersonating senior government officials—including those from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Law—to dupe high-profile individuals of approximately Rs 200 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate has named Jacqueline Fernandez as a co-accused, alleging that she knowingly received “proceeds of crime” from Chandrashekhar in the form of luxury gifts, including jewelry, high-end watches, and vehicles. While the actor has consistently maintained that she was a victim of deception and had no knowledge of the criminal origins of the funds, the central agency has argued that she continued to associate with the accused and enjoy the benefits of the funds despite being aware of his criminal history.
The trial court has also framed charges against Sukesh Chandrashekhar, his wife Leena Maria Paul, and 14 other individuals. As the legal process moves toward a formal trial, all accused parties continue to deny the allegations, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle in the coming months.
As the trial court gears up for the next hearing on July 16, the focus remains on the judicial determination of the evidence presented by the ED versus the defense maintained by the accused.
