Gandhis Get Temporary Relief From Delhi Court In National Herald Case

A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering case against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald case.

The Rouse Avenue Court said the agency's prosecution complaint – filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA – was not maintainable since the case was based on a private complaint - i.e., filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy - and not a First Information Report, or FIR.

The court also pointed out that Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing had already registered an FIR in this case, meaning it will be 'premature and imprudent' to now rule on the ED's submission.

The ED, which has said it will appeal the order, can continue its investigation, the court said.

The Congress responded to the dismissal with a "truth has prevailed" post on X.

"The court has ruled the ED case is without jurisdiction, it has no FIR without which there is no case... The malafide and illegality of the (Narendra) Modi government stands fully exposed."

"This politically motivated prosecution by the Modi government, over the last decade, of the principal opposition party stands exposed before the people of India," the party said on X.

The EOW filed its submission last month; Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others, including the Congress' overseas unit chief, Sam Pitroda, had been accused of conspiring to 'fraudulently take-over Associated Journals Limited', the now-defunct National Herald newspaper's parent company.

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Responding to the criminal conspiracy charges, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi mocked the Bharatiya Janata Party for 'conjuring a case (out) of its own twisted mind' and said the charges were 'the BJP' recycled obsession'. The BJP responded with taunts of its own; the party's National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh, told reporters the Congress 'is in a state of panic and frustration'.

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Some of the Congress' allies, including Priyanka Chaturvedi from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, came out to bat for the under-fire party. "The National Herald charges are nothing but a political witch hunt... a tool the BJP applies time to time to attack opposition voices. Shame that agencies continue to bend backwards to please political masters."

What is The National Herald?

The National Herald, founded by Jawaharlal Nehru and others in 1938, was a newspaper owned and published by AJL. The newspaper - regarded as the Congress' mouthpiece - went offline in 2008 with debts of Rs 90.21 crore, but it retained real estate assets then worth an estimated Rs 2,000 crore.

These, the ED has claimed, are now worth Rs 5,000 crore.

What is The National Herald case?

In November 2012 Swamy filed a private complaint alleging the Gandhis and other senior Congress leaders had fraudulently taken over AJL; he claimed the Congress leaders had taken over the properties for a mere Rs 50 lakh. These included the Herald House in Delhi and properties in Mumbai.

These alone are worth, reportedly, a combined Rs 661 crore.

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There are also allegations AJL had been using these properties - given by the union government of the time to only to run its newspaper operations - for commercial purposes. In other words, AJL had allegedly been getting rent worth lakhs of rupees.

These 'proceeds of crime', are worth Rs 998 crore, the ED has claimed.

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