Delhi High Court grants bail to Sukesh Chandrasekhar's wife Leena Paulose in ED case; no relief in MCOCA case

The Delhi High Court today granted bail to Leena Paulose, wife of alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a ₹200 crore extortion case.

Paulose, however, will remain in jail as the Court rejected her bail plea in a related case registered by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Justice Prateek Jalan pronounced the verdict in bail applications filed in the two cases by Paulose.

“I have rejected (bail application) in (the case) under MCOCA. Allowed it in the other (money laundering case),” the Court stated.

The Delhi Police has alleged that Paulose's husband, Chandrasekhar, had duped the wives of former promoters of Ranbaxy (Shivinder Singh, and Malvinder Singh) of ₹200 crores.

Chandrasekhar is alleged to have posed as an officer of the law ministry and the two women were stated to have paid several crores of rupees to Chandrasekhar to secure bail for their husbands.

Paulose was also accused of being complicit in the alleged crime and was arrested on extortion allegations in 2021. In petitions filed in 2024, Paulose sought bail on grounds of delays in trial, the fact that she had been in jail for over three years and since other co-accused were given bail.

The EOW had filed its chargesheet against Paulose under Sections 170, 186, 384, 386, 388, 419, 420, 406, 409, 420, 468, 471, 353, 506, 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 66D of Information Technology Act and Sections 3 and 4 Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999.

A connected money laundering case was also registered by the ED, which accused Paulose, her husband Chandrasekhar, and others of using Hawala routes to create shell companies and park money earned from the proceeds of crime there.