Congress Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Wednesday termed the National Herald case as a false conspiracy hatched by the ruling party and called it a clear example of “misuse of central investigative agencies”.
Addressing the media, Singhvi said that the allegations were made on baseless grounds and pressure from political power influenced the recent decision in the case.
He asserted, “The National Herald case is proof of the misuse of central agencies. Allegations were made, but on baseless grounds and in this case, the pressure of power had the ultimate impact on yesterday’s decision. Allegations were floating in the air, but the law remained firmly on the ground.”
Singhvi highlighted that between 2021 and 2025, the Enforcement Directorate conducted interrogation sessions, including five hours of questioning of Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and three hours of Rahul Gandhi. He said that news of these inquiries were widely published on the front pages of newspapers across the country.
The Congress leader reiterated that such cases are a reminder of how central agencies can be misused to put pressure on political opponents.
A day earlier, he had termed the National Herald case as a “national harassment case” and refuted money laundering allegations against party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and six others.
The National Herald case arose from a complaint filed by former MP Subramanian Swamy, in which he alleged misappropriation of funds by Congress leaders and companies linked to Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
After Delhi Police’s Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) on Sunday lodged a fresh FIR in the National Herald money laundering case, Singhvi accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of targeting opposition parties, calling it “apartheid”.
He also accused the BJP of alleged “vendetta” against the Congress.
Addressing a press conference in the capital, the Congress leader said, “It is a bizarre situation. No crime, no cash, no clue. The BJP is still fabricating a case with its devious mind. If justice is blind, then the ED does not discriminate. It sees only one colour, the color of the opposition.”
He said, “This is a case in which there is neither transaction of money, nor transfer of immovable property, nor any misuse, yet the ED in its imagination is treating it as a case of money laundering. If vendetta were a curriculum, the BJP would have graduated with honours. From a private complaint to a public spectacle, the National Herald case is an old obsession of the BJP. This is not a National Herald case; it is a case of national harassment.”
In Carlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Salman Khurshid welcomed the Delhi court’s decision to refuse to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate’s charge sheet in the National Herald money laundering case, saying “false allegations were leveled against our leaders.”
Responding to the Delhi court order, Khurshid rejected the allegations against the Congress leaders. “All these false allegations are being made against our leaders,” he said.
He stressed that the decision vindicated the party’s long-standing stand on the issue. He described the development as a big relief and an important milestone in the case.
Congratulating senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, he said, “I congratulate Manu Singhvi. He was working on this case from the beginning and after all the difficulties he achieved a good result.” Khurshid said that the leadership has nothing to hide. He said, “I think today is a big day for us. We are confident that what we have done is right.”
He also said that the party is ready to face any legal investigation.
The incident comes after a Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate’s prosecution complaint in the National Herald money laundering case. The court said that in the absence of an FIR for a scheduled (substantive) offence, proceedings cannot be initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Rouse Avenue Court Special Judge Vishal Gogne ruled in a detailed order that investigation and prosecution of the offense of money laundering under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA cannot be valid if the case is based only on a private complaint and summons order instead of a duly registered FIR.