India
Nora Fatehi testifies at Rouse Avenue Court in Rs 200 crore Sukesh extortion case
The actor told a Delhi court how a December 2020 Chennai charity event led to her first phone contact with Sukesh Chandrasekhar, in a trial being heard under MCOCA.
Desh Flash desk7 November 2026, 10:10 am IST2 minUpdated 7 November 2026, 10:10 am IST
Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi recorded her statement as a prosecution witness at Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Friday, in the Rs 200 crore extortion case against Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Special Judge (MCOCA) Gagandeep Singh heard her examination-in-chief, which was led by Special Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh. The court deferred the rest of it to November 30.
Fatehi told the court she was booked for a charity event in Chennai in December 2020, organised by Leena Maria Paul (also spelled Paulose in the records). She said she was engaged through an agency, Exceed Entertainment, and met Paul for the first time at the venue.
According to her account, her team told her before the event that Paul and her family wanted to meet. They came to her room with two videographers, other people and some gifts. Fatehi said Paul introduced herself as the owner of a nail salon, photographs were taken, and Paul then phoned her husband, who thanked her for coming over speaker. By Fatehi's telling, this was her first interaction with Sukesh. She said Paul also mentioned gifting her a car, and the husband asked her to accept it.
Fatehi said she went on to the event as chief guest and judged the programme. She told the court she took no fee, though her flight and staff costs were covered. She added that T-Series was her employer at the time.
The case matters because of the money and the method alleged. Prosecutors say Chandrasekhar, while held in Delhi's Rohini Jail, posed as senior government officials and extorted about Rs 200 crore from Aditi Singh, wife of former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh, in 2020-21. He is alleged to have promised to secure her husband's release in return.
The Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing filed a chargesheet under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, which is why the trial sits before a special MCOCA judge. Fatehi was questioned earlier by the EOW, her statement was recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC, and she was named a witness in the supplementary chargesheet. She had told investigators her contact with Chandrasekhar ran through his wife.
For markets and business watchers, the case is a reminder of how organised-crime law is being applied to high-value financial fraud. With the examination only partly complete, her testimony and any cross-examination will be worth following when the matter resumes.
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