Delhi Court Rejects ED's National Herald Case Against Gandhi Family: Kharge Calls It "Victory Of Truth"

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge expressed strong sentiments on Tuesday following a Delhi court's decision to reject the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) chargesheet in the National Herald money laundering case involving prominent party figures Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Kharge characterized the court's ruling as a defeat of what he called the Modi government's "conspiracy hatched with malicious intent of political revenge."

Taking to social media platform X, Kharge stated, "When false allegations were leveled to defame the National Herald, the Congress party, and our leaders, I had said the same thing then too--that if we didn't fear the British, what are these BJP-RSS or Modi-Shah worth? Today, the court too has declared the Modi government's actions illegal and foiled this conspiracy hatched with the malicious intent of political revenge."

The Congress President further emphasized that despite any attempts by what he termed the "vote-stealing government" to suppress democratic principles, Congress would persist in its struggle.

"No matter how much force this 'vote-stealing government' employs to crush democracy, we will continue our fight for 1.4 billion Indians and to save this Constitution. The victory of truth is certain," added Kharge.

The Delhi court declined to acknowledge the ED's chargesheet against the Gandhi family and others, noting that it was based on an investigation into a private complaint rather than an official FIR of a predicate offense.

In its decision, the court determined that the ED's case originated from a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and subsequent summoning orders, not from any formal police investigation.

The court ruled that money-laundering prosecution cannot proceed based solely on a private complaint, emphasizing that an FIR carries greater investigative weight and is necessary for registering an ECIR under the PMLA framework.

While rejecting cognizance, the court clarified that the ED may proceed with additional investigation in accordance with legal provisions. The complete order is expected to be published later, with the matter scheduled for further hearing on January 16, 2026.

During previous court sessions, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Sonia Gandhi, while RS Cheema appeared for Rahul Gandhi. Additional legal counsel included Advocates Sumit Kumar and Nikhil Bhalla for the Gandhi family, Advocate Sushil Bajaj for Suman Dubey, Senior Advocate Madhav Khurana for Young Indian, and ASG SV Raju for the Enforcement Directorate.

The court had previously emphasized that the accused possess a statutory right to be heard before cognizance under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The National Herald case originates from a complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy, alleging financial irregularities involving Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which originally published the National Herald newspaper.