New Delhi, Dec16: A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering complaint in the National Herald case, granting relief to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, holding that the prosecution was not maintainable in law.
Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court, in an order passed on December 16, ruled that the ED could not proceed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as the case was founded on a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and not on a First Information Report (FIR).
The court observed that an investigation and prosecution for the offence of money laundering under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA can be initiated only when there is an FIR relating to a scheduled offence. In the absence of such an FIR, cognisance of the ED’s complaint was impermissible in law, it said.
Accordingly, the court declined to take cognisance and dismissed the complaint filed by the central agency.
However, the court clarified that since the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing has now registered an FIR in the matter, it would be premature to examine the merits of the allegations at this stage. It added that the ED would be at liberty to make further submissions as the investigation progresses.
Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the ED had named Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise and Sunil Bhandari as accused in the case. The agency has alleged laundering of proceeds of crime arising out of the alleged fraudulent takeover of assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian.
The National Herald newspaper, founded in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru and others, was published by AJL and ceased publication in 2008 after incurring debts of Rs 90.21 crore. However, AJL continued to hold prime real estate assets, earlier estimated at over Rs 2,000 crore, with the ED claiming that their value has since risen to around Rs 5,000 crore.
The case stems from a 2012 complaint by Subramanian Swamy, who alleged that Congress leaders acquired AJL’s assets, valued at about Rs 2,000 crore, for just Rs 50 lakh through Young Indian Limited. Senior Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, who were also named in the original complaint, have since passed away.
