Court Blocks ED's National Herald Case Against Gandhis: A Major Blow to Probe Agency

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{ "title": "Court Blocks ED's National Herald Case Against Gandhis: A Major Blow to Probe Agency", "article": "A Delhi court has dealt a significant blow to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by declining to take cognizance of a charge sheet filed against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. The court ruled that it was impermissible in law to take judicial note of the charge sheet and summon the Gandhis. The ED had alleged that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had illegally obtained the underlying assets of Associates Journals Limited (AJL), which ran the National Herald newspaper, and acquired crores as direct proceeds of crime. The court's order, which runs into 117 pages, criticized the ED's approach, saying it reflected a unilateral overreach of the other law enforcement agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and an ill-advised out-pacing of the scheme of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court also noted that the ED had proceeded to file an ECIR (equivalent to an FIR) before the court despite the absence of a predicate offence. The ED had alleged that AJL, which got land in various cities at concessional rates to run the National Herald, but closed the newspaper in 2008, relaunched its news operations around 2016 "just to show that it is still engaged in publishing of newspapers" after an investigation was started into company's affairs by various agencies. However, the court observed that the ED had "simply inverted the template" of money laundering being a consequential step to a predicate offence. The ED will challenge the order, officials familiar with the development said, adding that the Delhi Police's economic offences wing (EOW) had already registered a first information report (FIR) in the ED's complaint. The Congress has hailed the court's order as a "completely illegal and mala fide" move by the ED, while the BJP has said the development did not clear Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of the charges. The National Herald case dates back to 2010, when Young Indian (YI), a company in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi together hold 76%, took over Associates Journals Limited (AJL). The ED had alleged that YI paid ₹50 lakh against the loan and took over AJL, while the Congress leaders had maintained that YI was trying to revive AJL in a bid to continue its legacy and ideals. The court's order has raised questions about the timing and motives of the ED's probe, and whether it was a genuine effort to uncover financial irregularities or a politically motivated move to target the Gandhi family."