Delhi court orders Nora Fatehi to appear November 6 as witness in extortion case
Actress Nora Fatehi must appear as a prosecution witness on November 6, 2026, after a Delhi court issued fresh summons in the Sukesh Chandrashekhar extortion case. Her lawyers said she missed Monday's hearing because the summons arrived at short notice and she had prior work commitments. They emphasized that she faces no accusation of wrongdoing in these proceedings.
Mariam Al Mansoori
Court questions her absence
At Monday's hearing in Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court, Fatehi's lawyers requested an exemption from her personal appearance. Delhi Police said they had summoned her but did not know whether she would attend.
Special Judge Gagandeep Singh criticized her absence, telling her counsel that she was expected to attend as a witness. "Her conduct is not up to the mark. Don't take the court for granted," the court stated. In response to a question about the notice, her lawyer said she had been informed on October 29.
The judge adjourned the matter until November 6 and issued fresh summons for Fatehi to give evidence. Her legal team said her role is solely to assist the court as a witness, not as an accused.
Fatehi's place in the investigation
ThePrint reported that the third supplementary chargesheet identifies Fatehi as prosecution witness LW-3. Her statement was recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC.
The Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing previously questioned her about her alleged association with Chandrashekhar and his wife, Leena Maria Paulose. Fatehi told investigators that her contact with Chandrashekhar was through his wife. Investigators also asked her about a December 2020 event she attended in Chennai, according to ThePrint.
ABP Live reported that both Fatehi and actress Jacqueline Fernandez acknowledged receiving extravagant gifts from Chandrashekhar during questioning by the Enforcement Directorate. Citing the agency's chargesheet, the report said Chandrashekhar had befriended Fernandez through a spoofed call in which he pretended to be someone from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office.
The alleged extortion from jail
The case centers on allegations that Chandrashekhar obtained about Rs 2 billion, or Rs 200 crore, from Aditi Singh during 2020-21. Singh is married to Shivinder Mohan Singh, a former promoter of the Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy. Investigators allege that Chandrashekhar posed as senior government officials while held in Delhi's Rohini Jail and offered to arrange her husband's release in return for money.
Newslaundry, citing the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet, reported that he used the identities "Anoop Kumar," a law secretary, and "Abhinav," described as a joint secretary. The alleged scheme involved phone numbers generated through the second-number app Hushed, along with Telegram and WhatsApp.
According to that account, the initial demand was a Rs 20 crore contribution to the Bharatiya Janata Party's fund. Some transfers went through Dubai or Hong Kong. Aditi Singh complained to Delhi Police on August 6, 2021; the police special cell arrested Chandrashekhar two days later.
ThePrint reported that the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing investigated the alleged extortion and filed a chargesheet under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, or MCOCA.
Earlier cases and the status of proceedings
Newslaundry reported that Chandrashekhar grew up in a lower-middle-class family in Bengaluru, dropped out of school and was first arrested at 17. In 2013, he defrauded Canara Bank of Rs 19 crore while posing as an Indian Administrative Service officer working for the Karnataka government. His 2017 arrest concerned bribery of Election Commission of India officials in a case connected to the AIADMK's "two leaves" symbol dispute.
In the Rs 200 crore case, a Delhi court framed money laundering charges against Chandrashekhar, Fernandez and 16 others on May 30, 2026, according to Hindustan Times. The report also said Special Judge Prashant Sharma of the Patiala House courts framed charges under sections 3 and 4 of MCOCA, along with cheating and impersonation charges, against Chandrashekhar and 21 others in the case lodged by the Delhi Police crime branch.
As of that May 30 report, Chandrashekhar had obtained bail in 27 of the 31 cases against him. Hindustan Times said the remaining cases included this extortion case and the money laundering probe stemming from it.
