THE Delhi High Court in its order rejected Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s argument that the ED adopted a “pick and choose” policy and did not proceed against other similarly-placed actors in a money laundering case. Fernandez was referring to television celebrities Nikki Tamboli, Chahatt Khanna and Sophia Singh. Justice Anish Dayal on July 3 dismissed her plea for quashing an FIR against her in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case also involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

 

The actor argued that the probe agency did not proceed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against other actors who too received gifts and articles from Chandrasekhar. The order underlined the consideration of parity during bail proceedings and said the argument couldn’t be applied during quashing an FIR as it would completely erase the ECIR against the accused petitioner. “Whether the investigating agency chose a pick and choose policy or decided not to proceed against the others, based on the merits of the case, is not an issue under consideration before this court; petitioner is always at liberty to raise this issue at an appropriate stage,” the court’s 95-page verdict said.