Delhi Court reserves order on cognisance of ED charges against Gandhis in National Herald case

New Delhi, Jul 14: A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on whether to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) prosecution complaint alleging money laundering against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald case (ED v Sonia Gandhi & Ors), Bar & Bench reported. Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court stated that the order will be pronounced on July 29.

Besides the Gandhis, the ED has named Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise, and Sunil Bhandari as proposed accused in the case. According to the ED, the case pertains to the alleged laundering of “proceeds of crime” derived from what it terms a fraudulent takeover of the properties of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher of the National Herald. These properties are valued at over ₹2,000 crore. The ED alleges that AJL’s shares were transferred to Young Indian, a company in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are said to be majority shareholders, as part of a criminal conspiracy to illegally acquire AJL’s assets. The agency claims that the value of shares, immovable properties of AJL, and the rent generated from them constitute the proceeds of crime.

In response, the Gandhis have argued that the case is “strange and unprecedented,” asserting that the allegations of money laundering have been levelled without any use or projection of the alleged property. During the hearings, they rejected the ED’s contention that Young Indian was used to usurp AJL’s assets under the guise of a loan, maintaining that the loan was intended to make AJL debt-free.

The National Herald case originates from a private complaint filed by former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy, alleging that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, the late Motilal Vora, the late Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and the Gandhi family-controlled Young Indian were involved in cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and misappropriation of property. The ED filed its prosecution complaint in the case on April 15 this year.