Our Political Correspondent
New Delhi: In a sharp escalation of political rhetoric, the Congress party on Wednesday celebrated a Delhi court’s decision to refuse cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering complaint in the long-running National Herald case, terming it a resounding exposure of the Modi government’s alleged misuse of central agencies.
A special court in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue complex on Tuesday declined to take cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others, ruling that the case was not maintainable under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as it stemmed from a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy rather than a registered First Information Report (FIR) for a predicate (scheduled) offence.
The court emphasised that PMLA proceedings require a foundational FIR in the underlying criminal offence, a condition not met in the ED’s original probe initiated in 2021.
Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, party president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, welcomed the judgment as a triumph of truth, stating, “Satyameva Jayate has prevailed.” He accused the government of waging a decade-long campaign of harassment against the Gandhi family and the Congress, specifically to defame them and target the party’s legacy.
Kharge went further, demanding the resignations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, likening the court’s order to “a slap on their face.” “They should resign because they should not harass people like this,” he said, adding that the public would not tolerate such actions in the future.
Senior Congress MP and spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who led the legal arguments, described the case as “a story of malice-driven negligence and action without jurisdiction.” He highlighted that from 2014 to 2021, both the CBI and ED had internally opined in writing that no predicate offence existed, yet an ECIR (ED’s equivalent of an FIR) was suddenly registered in June 2021 amid alleged political pressure.
Singhvi pointed out the absence of any actual money laundering: no funds or properties moved even “one millimetre.” Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher of the National Herald newspaper founded in 1938 by freedom fighters including Jawaharlal Nehru, remains the owner of its assets. The transaction involved converting AJL’s debt into equity in Young Indian – a not-for-profit Section 8 company – solely to make AJL debt-free, a common corporate practice.
“No dividend, no perks, no profit distribution is possible in such a company,” Singhvi noted, calling the allegations “laughable” if not for their serious political implications.
He also criticised the ED’s recent moves, including a fresh FIR registered by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing on October 3, 2025, as evidence of panic and continued vendetta to “keep the pot boiling.”
The case dates back to a 2012 private complaint by Swamy alleging cheating and breach of trust in the transfer of AJL assets to Young Indian, in which the Gandhis hold majority stakes. The ED attached properties worth hundreds of crores and interrogated leaders, including over 50 hours for Rahul Gandhi alone between 2021 and 2025.
While the Congress hailed the ruling as vindication, sources indicate the ED plans to appeal and may file a fresh complaint based on the October 2025 FIR, which provides the missing predicate offence.
The development has intensified political tensions, with the opposition framing it as proof of agency weaponisation against dissent, even as the underlying allegations remain under scrutiny in separate proceedings.
