Delhi Court Dismisses ED’s Money Laundering Complaint Against Rahul and Sonia Gandhi

A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering complaint against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the long-running National Herald case.

The order was pronounced by Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts.

The court held that the ED’s prosecution complaint was not maintainable in law, as it was based on a private complaint under Section 200 of the CrPC filed by Dr. Subramanian Swamy, rather than on a formal FIR relating to a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“The prosecution complaint pertaining to money laundering cannot be sustained in the absence of an FIR relating to a scheduled offence,” the judge said.

The court noted that the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing had already lodged an FIR in the case, making it premature to adjudicate on the ED’s arguments on merits.

The ED had filed a fresh complaint under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA, 2002, alleging that Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and other Congress leaders engaged in money laundering in connection with the acquisition of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.

The controversy dates back to 2010, when Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL), a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi held a majority stake, acquired AJL’s debts from the Indian National Congress for ₹50 lakh.

YIL subsequently took control of AJL’s assets, valued at over ₹2,000 crore, leading to allegations that Congress funds were misused to gain control of AJL’s valuable properties.

The ED’s investigation, initiated in 2014, scrutinised financial transactions between the Congress party, AJL, and YIL. The agency recently moved to take possession of properties linked to AJL worth approximately ₹661 crore under the PMLA.

With Tuesday’s order, the ED’s complaint has been dismissed, though the matter continues to attract attention given the high-profile nature of the case and ongoing investigations.

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