Enforcement Directorate actions: court refused cognisance in National Herald, ED arrests in liquor scam reported.
A Delhi court refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charge in the National Herald case, while the ED arrested a suspended state administrative officer in an alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam; the Supreme Court directed consideration of closing or relocating nine toll plazas to address Delhi NCR air pollution and authorised coercive action against vehicles not meeting BS IV emission standards.

Liquor scam: former deputy secretary arrested in alleged Rs115 crore money laundering case; custody remand reported.
A central money laundering probe led to the arrest and custodial remand of a suspended deputy secretary alleged to have received approximately Rs 115 crore as proceeds of crime from an alleged liquor procurement syndicate active between 2019 and 2022; investigators allege the syndicate caused over Rs 2,500 crore loss to the exchequer and involved senior political figures and intermediaries managing large illicit cash flows.

National Herald case: court refusal to take cognisance sparks protests alleging ED misuse and demands for an inquiry.
A Delhi court's refusal to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charges in the National Herald matter prompted Congress protests in Jharkhand alleging misuse of central investigative powers. Protesters assembled outside the state BJP headquarters demanding a public apology and cessation of partisan use of federal agencies. The BJP criticised the demonstration, challenged the protestors' account of the court ruling, and sought an inquiry into police facilitation of the protest, urging action against officers who allowed access despite barricades.

Congress protest against ED action over National Herald halted; legal dispute centers on cognisance requirements in money laundering inquiries.
A political party protested the Enforcement Directorate's investigative action in the National Herald matter; police halted the march with heavy deployment, barricading, and detained demonstrators. A court declined to take cognisance of the ED's charge sheet, finding a money laundering probe requires an underlying FIR for a scheduled offence; the ED may appeal and file a fresh charge sheet based on a newly registered police FIR. Key legal issues include requirements for cognisance in money laundering investigations and procedural options for the agency following dismissal of its charge sheet.

Congress protests demand apology after court refused cognisance of ED money laundering complaint.
The Congress held nationwide protests alleging misuse of investigative agencies after a trial court declined cognisance of an ED prosecution complaint alleging money laundering in the National Herald matter; party leaders demanded apology or resignation of senior ruling party figures and pledged continued street and parliamentary agitation. The order stated cognisance was impermissible in law but left investigative steps available to the ED, which may appeal the decision; the case remains described as pending in the High Court.

National Herald case: court found the money-laundering probe began from a private complaint, not an FIR.
The court concluded that the money-laundering probe in the National Herald matter originated from a private complaint rather than an FIR, and found that no offence of money laundering was made out on the available material, stressing the importance of the complaint/FIR distinction as a threshold for cognisance in financial investigations.

MGNREGA replacement sparks protest; leaders claim it alters constitutional guarantee and decry National Herald probe misuse.
The core legal issue is the proposed replacement of the MGNREGA with the VB G RAM G Bill, 2025, challenged as removing Mahatma Gandhi's name and affecting a constitutional rural employment guarantee; state leaders plan legislative action. Separately, a trial court declined cognisance of money laundering charges against party leaders, prompting allegations of misuse of investigative powers, procedural lapses and politically motivated prosecutions that the party intends to contest publicly and legislatively.

National Herald case: court found money laundering prosecution complaint impermissible because it derived from a private complaint, not an FIR.
A court held that taking cognisance of a prosecution complaint for money laundering was impermissible in law because the complaint stemmed from a private complaint and not from an FIR of a predicate offence, making cognisance legally unsustainable and premature to decide on merits.

National Herald case: ECIR without a prior FIR subverts the required predicate offence trigger for money laundering probes.
The court held that initiating a PMLA investigation by recording an ECIR without a prior FIR in the scheduled (predicate) offence subverts the statutory sequence: the predicate offence must be recorded and investigated first, and a private complaint cannot substitute for an FIR as the jurisdictional foundation for a money laundering prosecution; the order declined cognisance on that legal ground while leaving open further investigation and potential future prosecution if procedural prerequisites are met.

National Herald case: court refused cognisance of ED money laundering complaint; ED to seek fresh charge sheet based on a police FIR.
A Delhi court declined cognisance of the ED's money laundering prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, finding such a prosecution complaint not maintainable without an FIR for the scheduled predicate offence; the ruling was procedural and did not assess the merits or exonerate the accused, while the ED plans to file a fresh charge sheet relying on a later FIR by the Delhi Police economic offences wing.

Indian identity document racket for Bangladeshi nationals allegedly linked to money laundering, hawala transfers and forged documentation.
The ED alleges a racket that obtained Indian identity documents for Bangladeshi nationals using fabricated records and laundered proceeds under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, including passports with implausible birth dates, procurement of Aadhaar and PAN, operation of a hawala remittance channel, and misuse of a Full Fledged Money Changer and forex firm that received over Rs 80 crore through transactions supported by forged documents.

Nirav Modi seeks reopening of his extradition appeal; UK court adjourns hearing to March citing government assurances.
An application by Nirav Modi to reopen his extradition appeal was adjourned to a rolled up hearing in March-April 2026 after India provided sovereign assurances regarding his pre trial detention and non interrogation by investigative agencies. The CPS argues the reopening was not made as soon as practicable and that existing assurances negate the defence reliance on the Bhandari decision; Modi's lawyers maintain the assurances are inadequate to remove a real risk of torture or inhuman treatment and seek further expert time to challenge them.

National Herald case: ruling finds ED lacked authority without lawful FIR, nullifying money laundering charges against Congress leaders.
The ruling held that without a lawful FIR the Enforcement Directorate lacked jurisdiction to initiate or continue PMLA proceedings, rendering the investigative steps null and void; the ED had alleged conspiracy and money laundering by senior Congress leaders and associated entities in the National Herald matter.

National Herald case: court declined ED's money laundering complaint as not based on an FIR.
Court held the ED's money laundering prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to be impermissible because it was founded on a private complaint rather than an FIR or a scheduled predicate offence; cognisance of the money laundering offence was declined and the complaint dismissed as not maintainable in law.

National Herald case: money laundering prosecution cannot be founded on a private complaint without an FIR.
The court held that initiation of a PMLA prosecution for a scheduled offence is not maintainable when founded on a section 200 CrPC complaint rather than an FIR, because the statutory scheme and guidance treat an FIR in the predicate offence as the jurisdictional foundation for the ED to record an ECIR and thereafter file a prosecution complaint; cognisance and summoning based solely on a private/public complaint are therefore impermissible.

Ansal Properties charged with money laundering over alleged failure to operate sewage treatment plants and illicit gains.
A prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act alleges Ansal Properties and its promoters failed to install, maintain, or provide adequate capacity in sewage treatment plants for specified projects, discharged untreated or inadequately treated effluent, and thereby generated proceeds of crime of Rs 10.55 crore; assets equal to that value were attached and the case relies on pollution control board inspection findings.

National Herald case: ED will file a fresh PMLA charge sheet after EOW files its police charge sheet and procedural steps conclude.
The Enforcement Directorate relies on a 2021 Enforcement Case Information Report under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act alleging Young Indian and its majority shareholders acquired Associated Journals Ltd. assets at substantial undervaluation, producing alleged proceeds of crime; a trial court refused cognisance of an ED charge sheet filed in April for lack of an FIR predicate but did not quash the ECIR. The ED merged an EOW FIR into its ECIR, intends to file a fresh charge sheet after the police charge sheet is filed, may reinterview accused persons, and plans asset possession steps following adjudicating authority confirmation of provisional attachments.

National Herald case: court refused cognisance as ED chargesheet lacked predicate FIR, finding proceedings without jurisdiction.
A Delhi court refused cognisance of the ED chargesheet in the National Herald/Young Indian case because the prosecution was based on a private complaint rather than a predicate offence FIR, rendering cognisance impermissible in law. The judge noted that the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing has lodged an FIR, and therefore it would be premature to decide the ED's merits-based arguments, identifying a jurisdictional and procedural defect in initiating money laundering proceedings without a proper predicate FIR.

National Herald case: money laundering charge against Rahul and Sonia Gandhi not taken up, prompting political criticism.
A trial court declined to take cognisance of an Enforcement Directorate chargesheet alleging money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and five others; the report focuses on the cognisance threshold for PMLA prosecutions and notes political claims that the prosecution is politically motivated as contextual commentary.

National Herald case: Gandhis not entitled to FIR copy but may be informed that an FIR was registered.
The court held that the Gandhis and other named persons are not entitled to a copy of the FIR but may be informed that an FIR has been registered; the FIR, lodged after evidence sharing by the federal agency, alleges criminal conspiracy, dishonest misappropriation, criminal breach of trust and cheating and relates to entities connected to Young Indian and Associated Journals.