Delhi court allows Jacqueline Fernandez to leave country without its prior permission

Court allows Jacqueline Fernandez to leave India without prior permission in ₹200-crose money laundering case. Special Judge modifies bail condition, allowing her to intimate court & ED 3 days before leaving.

A Delhi court has allowed Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez to leave the country without its prior permission, modifying the bail condition in a ₹200-crore money laundering case lodged against her and alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar.

The court directed her to intimate to it as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at least three days before leaving the country instead of taking prior permission.

Special Judge Shailendra Malik, who had granted bail to Ms. Fernandez on November 15 last year, observed that in order to grab professional opportunities, the actor requires to travel abroad at short notice and she has never misused the conditions of bail at any point in time.

The Judge modified the condition in an order passed on August 10, noting that taking prior permission of the court before leaving the country “becomes cumbersome and may be a reason for losing livelihood”. While granting bail to Ms. Fernandez, the Judge had directed her “not to leave the country without prior permission of the court”.

The court noted that while Ms. Fernandez was facing trial in the money laundering matter being probed by the ED, she was made a witness in a related case being investigated by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police.

It was also undisputed that the accused never misused the conditions of bail at any point in time, the court observed.

The Judge said that the purpose of putting conditions on the accused to take prior permission before leaving India was only to ensure that she must appear during the course of trial and there must be least possibility of her fleeing from the judicial process.