Delhi court throws out ED's National Herald money laundering case
A Delhi court has declined to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) complaint in the National Herald case, which accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others of usurping Associated Journals Limited (AJL) assets worth over ₹2,000 crore.
The ED said there was a criminal conspiracy involving Congress loans and Young Indian getting rights to recover AJL's debts for a token amount.
Why did the court dismiss it?
The judge explained that the ED's case was based on a private complaint from 2014—not an official police FIR—so it didn't meet legal requirements under money laundering laws.
The court pointed out that an FIR is needed for such cases, but CBI never filed one despite requests.
Meanwhile, a newer investigation by the ED is ongoing based on a recent FIR from Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing.