New Delhi, Dec 16: Congress said that the BJP-led government has been exposed and that “the truth has prevailed” as a Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) prosecution complaint in the alleged National Herald money laundering case.

In a major relief to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court held that the complaint filed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was not maintainable.

Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the federal anti-money laundering agency had arrayed Congress Overseas chief Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited and as proposed accused in the case.

Taking to X, Congress said, “Truth has prevailed. The malafide and illegality of the Modi govt stands fully exposed. Proceedings of ED against the Congress leadership – Smt Sonia Gandhi Ji and Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji, in the Young Indian case, have been found completely illegal and malafide by the Honourable Court.”

Hitting out at the BJP-led Centre, Congress said, “The court has ruled that the ED case is without jurisdiction, it has no FIR without which there is no case. This politically motivated prosecution by the Modi government over the last decade of the principal opposition party stands exposed before the people of India.”

The party said that there is no case of money laundering, no proceeds of crime and no movement of property, calling the allegations “baseless charges that have been a part of a political witch hunt, propaganda, reputation assassination and campaign which stands defeated today.”

“Congress party and our leadership are committed to fighting for truth and for rights of every Indian — we cannot, and will not ever be intimidated — because we fight for the truth,” it added.

The high-profile case pertains to allegations that top Congress functionaries conspired to wrongfully acquire control of assets exceeding Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald newspaper, by paying a nominal amount of Rs 50 lakh through Young Indian — a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are majority stakeholders.

Earlier, on November 29, the Rouse Avenue Court had deferred the pronouncement of its decision after reserving orders on November 7, noting that further scrutiny of transaction documents, alleged rent receipts and fund flow patterns was required before determining whether the prosecution complaint met the statutory threshold for cognisance under the PMLA.

The ED had argued that the case involved a “serious economic offence” and alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to form Young Indian to usurp AJL’s properties for a nominal sum, primarily to benefit the top Congress leadership.

It had also claimed that several senior Congress leaders were involved in “fake transactions”, including the issuance of fraudulent advance rent payments supported by fabricated rent receipts.

The Congress leadership, however, has consistently denied the allegations, terming the money laundering case as “really strange” and “unprecedented”.

The controversy over the National Herald’s assets came into focus in 2012 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint in a trial court, alleging that Congress leaders had engaged in cheating and breach of trust in the process of acquiring AJL.

Thane, Dec 15: A woman facing a serious charge of alleged sexual assault levelled by her 10-year-old biological son has been granted bail by the special Prevention of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Court, Thane.

The bail was granted on the grounds that the investigation was complete and the chargesheet had been filed. Also, since there is pendency of several cases, the court said there was no reason to keep the accused behind bars. There are three other accused in the case.

The woman has refuted the allegations, claiming that her estranged husband was caught having an alleged extra-marital affair and that the entire story of the alleged sexual assault of her child was concocted by him to defame her.

The court, in its order, acknowledged that tampering with evidence cannot be ruled out but stated that this concern would be addressed by imposing stringent conditions on the accused to prevent such actions.

The order copy specifies that the accused must strictly not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat, or promise to the victim, witnesses, or any other person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the court.

“The accused are restricted from repeating the offence or committing any other offence and are asked to regularly attend the court’s proceedings and trial and be represented by a duly instructed legal practitioner,” the conditions of the order copy say.

The disturbing case was filed with the Vartak Nagar police station, in which the boy alleged that his biological mother had sexually assaulted him earlier this year. The serious matter came to light after the child, on his own, sought help from a child helpline (1098) in August, asking to be rescued from his mother’s custody.

The child helpline accordingly alerted the local police, who subsequently arrested the accused mother and three other men for the alleged sexual assault of the 10-year-old.

The court’s order, passed on December 10 and made available recently, stated, “The offence is ex facie not punishable with death or life imprisonment. The accused are not hardcore criminals, as there are no criminal antecedents reported against them by the investigating agency.”

The woman is the natural mother of the victim, whereas the second accused is her maternal uncle. Ex facie, there are matrimonial disputes pending between the estranged couple. Meanwhile, in this background, the possibility of tampering definitely cannot be ruled out.

“However, considering the pros and cons of the application, there is no point in detaining the accused further behind bars, as there is no further requirement of any custodial interrogation from them, and the apprehension expressed can be taken care of by imposing stringent terms and conditions. The trial is likely to take its own pace and time in view of the pendency of other older cases. Therefore, the bail application is allowed by adding stringent conditions against the accused.”

The prosecution’s case dates back to January 2025, when the accused woman was living separately from her estranged husband, the boy’s biological father, amid a difficult marriage.

As per the documents, the boy called his father and informed him that some unknown men had been visiting their place and had allegedly assaulted him physically and sexually. The child also alleged that the men forced him to drink an alcoholic beverage. He claimed that his biological mother offered no opposition while he was being abused.

A few days later, on July 30, the child called the child helpline number 1098, seeking rescue from his mother’s custody. During the call, the child informed the operator that he had been sexually assaulted by his own mother and had been warned of consequences if he told anyone about the act. The father of the child was then alerted to the abuse.

“The helpline then contacted the father, brought the victim to him, and an FIR was subsequently registered,” the order copy reads.

The child’s father took the boy from his estranged wife’s custody and approached the Vartak Nagar police station with the helpline operator, where an FIR was registered against his wife and three other men for the alleged charges.

The wife has refuted the allegations, claiming that her estranged husband was caught having an alleged extra-marital affair and that the entire story of the alleged sexual assault of her child was concocted by him to defame her.

Mumbai: The Sir JJ Marg Police have arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly forging examination documents and illegally staying at the Old Boys’ Hostel of Sir JJ Hospital by posing as a first-year MBBS student.

The accused, Faisal Amiruddin Shaikh, 21, from Uttar Pradesh, resided in the hostel for one month using fake documents, including a bogus NEET result. He actually scored 90 marks but fabricated 514 marks to claim admission eligibility. The complaint was filed by warden Rewat Tukaram Kaninde, 37, a medical officer posted there for seven years.

The hostel is for first-year MBBS students. On December 12, during a routine inspection at 10:30am, the warden found Faisal in Room No. 144 not attending classes. Faisal claimed his admission was upgraded to RML College, Lucknow. When asked for documents, he said they were with his father. A phone call raised suspicions as the father initially denied having a son, later clarifying no upgrade occurred.

College checks confirmed Faisal had no roll number or enrollment. His submitted documents were forged. Faisal confessed to lying to his parents about securing MBBS admission and forging papers to enter the hostel. His father, a tailor in Dubai, and family wanted him to become a doctor, allegedly motivating the fraud.