Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed the Delhi court’s refusal to take cognisance of the ED chargesheet in the National Herald case, calling it a blow to the Modi government’s alleged political conspiracy. He said the verdict proves that “victory of truth is certain” and reaffirmed Congress’s fight to protect democracy and the Constitution.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday strongly reacted to a Delhi court’s decision that refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet in the National Herald money laundering case involving senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Kharge said the court’s decision has exposed what he called the Modi government’s political vendetta and conspiracy against the Congress leadership.
Reacting to the court order, Kharge posted on X and said,
“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.”
He further said that the Congress party will not bow down to pressure and will continue to fight for democracy and the Constitution, irrespective of how much force is used against it.
Kharge added,
“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.”
Earlier in the day, a local Delhi court refused to take cognisance of the ED’s chargesheet filed against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other accused in the National Herald money laundering case.
The court observed that the ED’s case was not based on an FIR related to a scheduled or predicate offence, which is required under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The court noted that the ED had initiated its investigation on the basis of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and the summoning orders passed in that complaint. The court held that such a private complaint cannot be treated as a substitute for an FIR.
In its observations, the court made it clear that a money laundering case cannot be sustained only on the basis of a private complaint. It emphasised that an FIR has greater legal and investigative value and is a mandatory requirement before the ED can register an ECIR under the PMLA framework.
While refusing to take cognisance of the chargesheet, the court also clarified that the ED is not barred from continuing further investigation in the matter, provided it is done strictly in accordance with the law.
The detailed order of the court is expected to be uploaded later in the day. The case has now been listed for further hearing on January 16, 2026.
During earlier hearings in the matter, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared on behalf of Sonia Gandhi, while senior advocate R.S. Cheema represented Rahul Gandhi. Advocate Sumit Kumar and Advocate Nikhil Bhalla also appeared for the Gandhi family.
Advocate Sushil Bajaj represented Suman Dubey, Senior Advocate Madhav Khurana appeared for Young Indian, and Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju represented the Enforcement Directorate.
The court had earlier stressed that the accused persons have a statutory right to be heard before cognisance is taken, as provided under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The National Herald case originated from a complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy, who alleged financial irregularities in the affairs of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that originally published the National Herald newspaper.
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