Rs 217-Crore Extortion Case: Court Frames Charges Against Sukesh Chandrasekhar, Leena Paul; Jacqueline Fernandez to Face Trial
Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma directed that charges after the three refused to plead guilty and opted to face trial.
Published : June 3, 2026 at 9:54 PM IST
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday ordered the formal framing of charges against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, his wife Leena Paul, and Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez in connection with the Rs 217-crore extortion case. Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma directed that charges after the three refused to plead guilty and opted to face trial.
The court ordered that charges be framed against the accused under provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the Information Technology Act.
Apart from Sukesh Chandrasekhar, the key accused in the case include his wife Leena Paul and actor Jacqueline Fernandez. However, the court ordered that charges against Jacqueline Fernandez would be framed only in connection with the extortion case and not under MCOCA.
The case was initially registered by the Delhi Police after a complaint was filed by Aditi Singh, the wife of former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Singh. Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also launched a money laundering investigation into the matter.
The ED submitted a report mentioning that Sukesh had admitted to receiving Rs 57 crore from Aditi Singh, however, investigators later found that the amount was Rs 80 crore. The ED has called Sukesh as the mastermind of the entire operation. They said that he contacted Aditi through landline phone and used fraudulent means to extract the money. The agency told the court that the money was allegedly used to purchase luxury vehicles, high-end items and expensive gifts.
In November 15, 2022, the court had granted bail to Jacqueline Fernandez and on August 31, 2022, it had taken cognisance of a supplementary chargesheet filed against her as the ED had named the actor as an accused in its supplementary chargesheet filed on August 17, 2022. The ED has attached assets worth approximately Rs 7 crore to Jacqueline Fernandez.
According to the agency's chargesheet, Chandrasekhar allegedly gifted items worth more than Rs 5.71 crore to the actor, which were reportedly delivered through Sukesh's associate, Pinky Irani. Among the gifts were a horse worth Rs 52 lakh and a Persian cat valued at Rs 9 lakh. There were other luxury items as well.
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