Gandhis' "Extraneous Considerations" Charge In National Herald Case

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have filed their written response in the Delhi High Court in the National Herald case.They have alleged that the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) action was influenced by "extraneous considerations." They argued that this is the only case in the country where the ED has proceeded with a money laundering investigation based on a private complaint.In their response, the Gandhis said the ED registered an ECIR against them based on a private complaint filed by former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy, even though such a course of action is not permitted under law.Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi contended that the ED itself has consistently maintained that a money laundering investigation cannot begin unless there is an FIR in a scheduled/predicate offence.According to their response, Swamy filed the private complaint in 2014, but the ED did not register an ECIR at that time.