Delhi court held the ED’s prosecution legally untenable as it stemmed from a private complaint, not an FIR of a predicate offence.
Congress accused the Modi government of vendetta politics and vowed nationwide protests against the “misuse of agencies.”
The ED said it may explore legal options, including filing an appeal, after consulting law officers.
The Congress on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after a Delhi court declined to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering complaint against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. The party termed the ruling a clear indictment of what it called the government’s “vendetta politics” and misuse of central agencies.
Addressing a press conference, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the court’s order was a “slap in the face” of the Modi government and accused it of harassing political opponents through investigative agencies. He asserted that the Congress would continue its fight both inside and outside Parliament and warned that party workers across the country were prepared to mobilise against such actions. Senior leaders K C Venugopal, Abhishek Singhvi, Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera were present at the briefing. PTI reported.
The court, delivering relief to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and five others, held that taking cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint was “impermissible in law” as the agency’s probe originated from a private complaint by Subramanian Swamy and not from an FIR involving a predicate offence. The judge said it would be premature to examine the merits of the allegations when cognisance itself could not be sustained.
Reacting to the ruling, Congress leaders said the judgment exposed the “politically motivated” nature of the case. The ED, meanwhile, indicated it may consider appealing the order after consulting law officers.
(With inputs from PTI)
