National Herald Case: Court Rejects ED Chargesheet Against Gandhis

NEW DELHI: In a major relief to the Gandhi clan, a Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charge against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and five others in the National Herald case, citing impermissibility in law. Special judge Vishal Gogne noted the chargesheet filed in the case is based on an investigation into a complaint by a private person and not on an FIR of a predicate offence.

Responding to the observation, the Congress slammed the Narendra Modi government and described the case as "politically motivated" and claimed that the "prosecution stands fully exposed."

The ED may file an appeal against the order of the special judge after taking the opinion from the solicitor-general or an additional solicitor-general. The ED will also file a fresh chargesheet against the Congress leaders, among others, as it has taken cognisance of the latest Delhi police FIR filed in the National Herald money laundering case.

Officials said the court has not quashed the ED enforcement case information report (ECIR), the police equivalent of FIR in PMLA, that was filed on May 30, 2021, and on which the entire case is based. It was on this ECIR that the ED filed the chargesheet alleging the Gandhi family "abused" their position for personal gains and Young Indian (YI), a private company "beneficially owned" by the mother-son duo, "acquired" Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) properties worth `2,000 crores for a mere `50 lakhs, significantly undervaluing its worth.

AJL is the publisher of the National Herald news platform (newspaper and web portal) and it is owned by Young Indian Private Limited. The ED ECIR (FIR) of 2021 in the National Herald case stands.

Reading out the operative part from the order, the special judge said the Delhi police's Economic Offences Wing has already lodged an FIR in the case, and hence it will be premature to adjudicate the ED's arguments in the case based on merits.

Mr Gogne was hearing a plea filed by the Delhi police, challenging the magisterial court's order, arguing that Mr Gandhi, Mrs Gandhi and others mentioned in the case are not entitled to a copy of the FIR. The judge, however, ruled that the accused may be informed that the FIR has been registered.

In a statement, the Congress asserted that the party and its leadership are committed to fighting for the truth and for the rights of every Indian. "We cannot and will not ever be intimidated, because we fight for the truth."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reminded people that when false allegations were levelled to defame the National Herald, the party and its leaders, then too he had said that "if we didn't fear the British, what are these BJP-RSS or Modi-Shah worth?"

In a post on X, Mr Kharge said, "Today, the court too has declared the Modi government's actions illegal and foiled this conspiracy hatched with the malicious intent of political revenge. No matter how much force this 'vote-chor government' deploys to crush democracy, we will continue our fight for 1.4 billion Indians and to save this Constitution. The victory of truth is certain.”

Congress senior spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, who is also an advocate, said he had told the court that this is a "very weird case" where there is not a millimetre movement of money or of immovable property.

"The judgment is significant because cognisance is the lowest form of dealing with a case. It is very easy to take cognisance of a case. It (the court's decision) means the case is not worth taking cognisance of. And here you see the amount of halla gulla and shor (brouhaha) that the BJP has done to make a superstructure of exaggeration," Mr Singhvi said.

The ED has accused Mrs Gandhi and her son, as well as late party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, along with Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering. It has been alleged that they acquired properties worth approximately `2,000 crores belonging to Associated Journals Limited, which publishes the National Herald newspaper.

The investigation agency alleged that the Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which "fraudulently" usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a `90 crores loan.

The Delhi police had on October 3 filed an FIR against the Congress leaders and other accused in the case on a complaint by the ED as part of the agency's money laundering probe into charges that they "abused" their position for personal gains. The police mentioned criminal conspiracy, dishonest misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust and cheating charges in the FIR.