National Herald case: Pilot hails court's decision as 'victory for truth'

Alleging that the Central government is targeting Congress and the Gandhi family by slapping various false cases on its leaders, party leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday welcomed the decision of a Delhi court refusing to take cognisance of Enforcement Directorate's (ED) chargesheet on the National Herald case, saying that the order proves the trust they have put in the judiciary. "The Government of India left no stone unturned to frame the Congress and the Gandhi family as accused in this false case. This is the result of our trust in the judiciary. This is a victory for truth... This is not only a victory for truth, but also a demonstration of how much pain Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were subjected to divert attention from the real issues," Pilot told ANI.

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Criticising the government for trying to "change the narrative of elections," the Congress leader said, "In the last 11 years, how many infiltrators has the Government of India expelled from the country?... By simply talking of infiltrators and instilling fear, they want to change the narrative of the elections."

Kharge Calls It Foiling of 'Malicious Conspiracy'

Earlier today, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge strongly reacted to the court's refusal to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) chargesheet, terming it a foiling of the Modi government's "conspiracy hatched with malicious intent of political revenge." In a post on X, Kharge 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 asserted that no matter how much force the "vote-stealing government" employs to crush democracy, Congress will continue its fight.

Court's Reasoning for Declining Cognisance

The Delhi court had said the chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others in the case, was based on a probe into a private complaint and not on an FIR of a predicate offence. It ruled that a money-laundering prosecution cannot be sustained based on a private complaint alone, noting that an FIR has greater investigative value and is a prerequisite for registering an ECIR under the PMLA framework.

While declining cognisance, the court clarified that the ED may continue with further investigation in accordance with the law. The detailed order is expected to be uploaded later in the day. The matter has been listed for January 16, 2026. (ANI)