New Delhi: There was temporary relief for Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and five others after a Delhi court, on Tuesday, refused to take cognisance of the money laundering case filed against them by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald matter.
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 – filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy – and not a First Information Report, or FIR, the Rouse Avenue Court held.
It was also pointed out that Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had already registered an FIR in this case, saying 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, as per NDTV.
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. It has accused Sonia, Rahul, and five others, including the Congress’ overseas unit chief, Sam Pitroda, of conspiring to ‘fraudulently take-over Associated Journals Limited (AJL)’, the now-defunct National Herald newspaper’s parent company.
Responding to these criminal conspiracy charges, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had mocked the BJP 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, with the party’s national general secretary, Tarun Chugh, told reporters the Congress ‘is in a state of panic and frustration’.
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.
Swamy filed a private complaint in November 2012, 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 a combined Rs 661 crore, reportedly.
The allegations are that AJL had been using these properties – given by the Union government of the time 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.
Congress MP and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal hailed Tuesday’s order, calling the ED case totally bogus.
“Time and time again, the BJP-controlled ED has tried its best to frame the Congress leadership in the totally bogus National Herald case. Today’s verdict of the Honourable Court declaring that the entire case is without jurisdiction, without FIR, and as such without basis, proves that this was purely driven by political vendetta,” he posted on X.
