The Delhi High Court on Monday granted regular bail to social media influencer Sandeepa Virk in a money laundering case in which she is accused of cheating a woman of nearly ₹6 crore on the pretext of offering her a role in a film.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while allowing Virk’s bail application, observed that the case was initiated almost a decade after the alleged transactions and that her continued incarceration would be unjustified in the circumstances. The court also took note of the fact that Virk has been in judicial custody for over four months, while the main accused in the case, Amit Gupta, has been declared a proclaimed offender and is still absconding.

In an order dated December 29, the court directed Virk to furnish a personal bond of ₹2 lakh along with two sureties of the same amount as a condition for her release. “This court is inclined to grant regular bail to the applicant on furnishing a personal bond in the sum of ₹2 lakh with two sureties of the like amount,” the judge said.

According to the prosecution, the complainant was allegedly duped of around ₹6 crore between 2008 and 2013. Of this amount, ₹5.43 crore was transferred through banking channels, with ₹1.03 crore allegedly linked to Virk. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed that the funds were used to purchase a flat in Mumbai, which was later transferred to Virk through a gift deed.

However, the court noted that the main accused Gupta had returned ₹2.7 crore to the complainant, thereby reducing the alleged proceeds of crime to approximately ₹2.8 crore. This aspect, the court said, was relevant while considering the bail plea.

Justice Sharma also highlighted that when the FIR was registered in 2016 for allegations pertaining to the period between 2008 and 2013, Virk was not charge-sheeted by the police. “Even thereafter, when the complainant filed a private complaint under Section 200 of the CrPC, the judicial magistrate, while declining to take cognisance against the applicant, specifically recorded that no offence was made out against her even for the purpose of summoning,” the court observed.

The order further noted that the record clearly reflected that Virk was neither found culpable during the police investigation nor was any prima facie case established against her by the magistrate at the stage of the private complaint proceedings.

Sandeepa Virk was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in August 2025 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Her arrest followed two-day searches conducted by the ED at multiple locations linked to her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai.

With the grant of bail, the court underscored that prolonged custody was not warranted in the facts of the case, especially in light of the delayed initiation of proceedings and the earlier findings that did not attribute criminal liability to Virk at preliminary stages.