Delhi: In a significant legal setback for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a Delhi court on Tuesday declined to proceed with the agency’s money laundering complaint against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. The decision has come as a major relief to the senior Congress figures, who have consistently maintained that the case lacks legal foundation.
The order was passed by Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne at the Rouse Avenue Court, who refused to take cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court held that the complaint itself was not legally sustainable.
According to the court, a money laundering investigation and subsequent prosecution under the PMLA cannot continue in the absence of a valid First Information Report (FIR) related to a scheduled offence. The judge noted that the ED’s case was built on a private complaint rather than a registered FIR, which does not meet the statutory requirements under the PMLA framework.
The court clearly observed that offences under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, which deal with the definition and punishment of money laundering, require the existence of a predicate offence listed in the Act’s schedule and backed by an FIR. In this case, that essential condition was missing, making the complaint untenable in law.
Legal experts say the ruling reinforces procedural safeguards under the PMLA and underscores the necessity of following due process before initiating criminal prosecution. The order may have wider implications for similar cases where investigations are launched without a scheduled offence formally registered by law enforcement agencies.
The National Herald case has been a politically charged matter for years, often cited by the ruling party as evidence of alleged financial irregularities by Congress leaders, while the opposition has described it as an instance of political vendetta. With the court’s latest ruling, the spotlight is once again on the legal validity of the ED’s actions.
