New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering case against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others in connection with the National Herald case. The Rouse Avenue Court observed that the agency’s prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was not maintainable because it was based on a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, rather than a registered First Information Report (FIR).
The court also noted that Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had already registered an FIR in the matter, making it “premature and imprudent” to rule on the ED’s submission at this stage. While the court dismissed the complaint, it clarified that the ED can continue its investigation and may appeal the order.
The Congress party reacted to the ruling by posting on X that “truth has prevailed,” asserting that the court found the ED’s case to be without jurisdiction and lacking an FIR. The party described the decade-long prosecution as a politically motivated move by the Modi government against the principal opposition party. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi mocked the BJP for creating what he called a “case out of its own twisted mind,” while BJP leaders responded by suggesting the Congress was “in a state of panic and frustration.”
Some opposition allies, including Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, defended the Congress, calling the charges a “political witch hunt” and a tool used by the BJP to target dissenting voices.
The National Herald, founded in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress leaders, was owned by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and ceased publication in 2008 with debts of Rs 90.21 crore. At that time, the company retained real estate assets estimated at Rs 2,000 crore, which ED claims are now worth Rs 5,000 crore.
The case originated in November 2012 when Swamy filed a private complaint alleging that the Gandhis and other senior Congress leaders fraudulently took over AJL, acquiring valuable properties, including Delhi’s Herald House and Mumbai assets, for just Rs 50 lakh. The ED alleged that these properties, meant solely for running the newspaper, were used commercially, generating rental income that it classified as “proceeds of crime” valued at Rs 998 crore.
The court’s ruling provides the Gandhis temporary relief from the ED’s PMLA case, though the agency retains the option to pursue appeals or continue its broader investigation.
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