Court junks ED charge sheet against Gandhis

A Delhi court on Tuesday declined to take cognisance of a charge sheet, filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case, which names senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

- Arnabjit Sur and Neeraj Chauhan

The court said that it was impermissible in law to take judicial note of the charge sheet and summon the Gandhis. The court also detailed in its 117-page order that ED's case reflected a unilateral overreach of the other law enforcement agency viz. the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on one hand and "an ill-advised outpacing of the scheme of the PMLA itself".

"Since the present prosecution complaint pertaining to the offence of money laundering is founded on cognizance and summoning order upon a complainant under section 200 CrPC filed by a public person namely Dr. Subramanian Swamy and not upon a FIR, cognizance of the present complaint is impermissible in law," said special judge Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue court.

The judge added that cognisance of the present complaint was liable to be declined on the question of law, and other arguments relating to the merits of the allegations were not required to be adjudicated.

The court, however, said that ED was at a liberty to further argue its case on the next date of hearing.