Delhi HC grants Cong leaders 3 weeks to respond to ED plea in National Herald case
Delhi HC Grants Cong Leaders 3 Weeks to Respond to ED Petition
Bharatmorningnews.com – Delhi HC grants Cong leaders 3 weeks to file their response in the high-profile National Herald case. The Delhi High Court has extended a three-week timeline for senior Congress party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, to submit their detailed replies. This significant development arrives as the court evaluates the Enforcement Directorate’s petition challenging a special court’s earlier decision to decline taking cognizance of the chargesheet in the ongoing money laundering investigation.
Justice Jain’s Bench Postpones Hearing Due to Heavy Schedule
The hearing was adjourned after Justice Manoj Jain communicated to the court that his bench would be unable to proceed with the matter on Monday. “We can’t hear this today. There are two other time-fixed matters today. The board is heavy,” Justice Jain clearly stated to everyone present in the courtroom.
During this adjournment period, the senior advocate representing the respondents formally requested additional time to thoroughly prepare their response to the ED’s petition. This request was granted, setting the new three-week deadline for the Congress leaders to submit their comprehensive replies.
Solicitor General Highlights Procedural Lapses
Appearing on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presented compelling arguments regarding procedural irregularities. He contended that the trial court had committed significant errors in its original ruling. Mehta specifically pointed out that the respondents had failed to file their replies despite the High Court having provided them with a generous two-month period to do so.
This is only a question of law. The time to file a reply was given two months ago. I can’t object to filing a reply. This is a pure question of law,
Mehta emphasized during his detailed submissions to the court.
Special Court’s Groundbreaking Decision and ED’s Challenge
On December 16, special judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue court delivered his landmark ruling. He determined that legally it was not permissible to take judicial notice of the chargesheet and subsequently summon the Gandhi family members to face the allegations.
The comprehensive 117-page judgment observed that the ED’s position demonstrated what it described as a unilateral overreach by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The court further characterized this approach as “an ill-advised out-pacing of the scheme of the PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act] itself”.
The trial court’s reasoning established that a prosecution complaint submitted by an authorized officer under the PMLA must be grounded in a scheduled offence that originates from a private complaint. Crucially, such an offence must be registered by a law enforcement body—either through a police first information report or through a complaint filed by someone empowered to investigate the scheduled offence.
Conversely, the ED’s petition maintained that the special judge overlooked an important legal distinction. The petition argued that when a competent court takes cognizance of a private complaint that constitutes the scheduled offence, this carries considerably more legal weight and significance.
According to the ED, the special court’s decision effectively provided what they termed a “hall pass” to certain money launderers. This exemption applies solely because the scheduled offence was reported by a private individual through a complaint submitted to a magistrate, rather than through proper law enforcement channels.