A Delhi court on Tuesday declined to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering complaint in the National Herald matter, which names Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi as accused.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts delivered the order, holding that the prosecution complaint filed by the ED was legally untenable as it was not based on an FIR relating to a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The court observed that the ED’s money laundering case stemmed from a cognisance and summoning order passed on a private complaint filed under Section 200 of the CrPC by Dr Subramanian Swamy, rather than from an FIR. On this basis, the court held that the statutory requirement for initiating proceedings under the PMLA was not satisfied.

While pronouncing the order, the judge also noted that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has already registered an FIR in the matter, and therefore, it would be premature to examine the ED’s contentions on merits at this stage.

The court ruled that since the prosecution complaint for the offence of money laundering was founded on a cognisance and summoning order arising out of a private complaint under Section 200 CrPC, and not on an FIR concerning a scheduled offence, taking cognisance of the ED’s complaint was impermissible in law. It further held that an investigation and subsequent prosecution under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA cannot be sustained in the absence of an FIR relating to a scheduled offence, leading to the dismissal of the ED’s complaint.

The ED had filed a fresh prosecution complaint against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA, 2002, alleging the commission of money laundering as defined under Section 3, read with Section 70, and punishable under Section 4 of the Act.

The case revolves around the takeover of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that publishes the now-defunct National Herald newspaper. In 2010, a newly incorporated entity, Young Indian Private Limited (YIL), acquired AJL’s debt from the Indian National Congress for ₹50 lakh.

Thereafter, YIL assumed control over AJL’s assets, which were estimated to be worth more than ₹2,000 crore. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi held a majority shareholding in YIL, giving rise to allegations that party funds were used to gain control over AJL’s high-value properties.

The ED’s probe, which commenced in 2014, examined the financial dealings between the Congress party, AJL, and YIL. The agency has alleged that the Gandhis and other Congress leaders orchestrated a scheme to unlawfully appropriate AJL’s assets for personal benefit.

More recently, the ED initiated steps to take possession of properties linked to AJL, valued at around ₹661 crore, under the provisions of the PMLA.