Delhi High Court Denies Bail To 'Conman' Sukesh Chandrasekhar's Wife Leena Paulose In Extortion Case, Grants Relief In ED Case
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to Leena Paulose, wife of alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, in the Rs 200-crore extortion case; but granted bail in a money laundering case. Justice Prateek Jalan denied bail to Paulose in the MCOCA case but allowed her bail plea in a case probed by the Enforcement Directorate. “I have rejected the application in the MCOCA case but allowed it...
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to Leena Paulose, wife of alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, in the Rs 200-crore extortion case; but granted bail in a money laundering case.
Justice Prateek Jalan denied bail to Paulose in the MCOCA case but allowed her bail plea in a case probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
“I have rejected the application in the MCOCA case but allowed it in (ED case)," the Court said while pronouncing the verdict.
While dealing with MCOCA case, the Court ruled that that the role attributed to Paulose in the alleged syndicate, and involvement in the offence, was such that the grant of bail was unjustified, despite the period of custody undergone by her.
It said that prima facie, it appeared from the record that she was the person controlling the syndicate in the absence of Sukesh.
“Further, she is alleged to have been recharging the mobile phone used by Sukesh while he was in judicial custody, and also responsible for his use of the “Silent Calling App”, which were central to the commission of the offence of extortion. It therefore prima facie appears that she had a pivotal role in the alleged offence, which itself, as noted above, was one which was a grave attempt to undermine the administration of justice at many levels,” the Court said.
It added that the allegation with regard to Paulose's use of extorted money to sustain a lavish lifestyle, and investments in her proprietorship businesses also, demonstrated a prima facie case that she was an important member of the organized crime syndicate.
In the ED case, the Court granted her bail noting that she had joined the investigation prior to her arrest, the non-applicability of the stringent conditions under Section 45 of the PMLA, and the benefit of parity with similarly placed co-accused who have already been granted bail.
As per the allegations, the complainant had received a call from one landline number on her mobile phone in which the caller (Chandrashekar) introduced himself as a senior officer in Ministry of Law. He proposed to help her in securing bail for her husband who was in judicial custody in cases related to Religare Enterprises Ltd.
It was further alleged that the said caller demanded a sum of Rs. 20 Crores from the complainant to get the work done and conveyed the modalities regarding the delivery of money. The caller further, through his associates, extorted money from the complainant on multiple occasions. The money extorted was to the tune of Rs. 214 Crores.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused and his wife, Leena Paulose, were allegedly involved in running an organized crime syndicate with their associates since 2013 with the motive of pecuniary gain by cheating and extortion.
It was further revealed that the accused, Sukesh Chandra Sekhar, is involved in several cases of attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, cheating and extortion by way of impersonating high-ranking officials.
Title: Leena Paulose v. State & other connected matter
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 447
Case Title: BAIL APPLN. 1802/2024