Delhi court declines ED's plea to issue notices to Sonia, Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case

The ED submitted that it was “very transparent” and “not hiding anything”; the court asked the agency to cure few defects and submit more relevant documents

Updated on: Apr 25, 2025, 18:59:33 IST

By HT News Desk

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A Delhi court on Friday refused to issue immediate notices to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over a money laundering case linked to the party's newspaper, National Herald, citing the lack of necessary documents submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The Congress Party has condemned the charges made against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders in the National Herald money laundering case (PTI)

The court was hearing the central agency's plea, which contended that cognisance of the complaint cannot be taken without first hearing the accused, according to the provisions of the PMLA. Under the agency's chargesheet, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are charged as accused numbers one and two, respectively.

Also read | National Herald case: Chargesheet against Sonia, Rahul sheer political vendetta: Gehlot

“Don't want this order to be prolonged. Let notice be issued,” ED told the court.

Special judge Vishal Gogne, however, said that the court is not yet satisfied that a notice to the accused was necessary and added that the court has to look for any deficiency in the agency's chargesheet.

“There are certain documents missing in the chargesheet as highlighted by the Ahlmad (court record keeper). ED is directed to file those documents. After that the court will decide the issue of notice,” the court said.

The ED submitted that it was “very transparent” and “not hiding anything” from the court. “We are not hiding anything. We are giving them the opportunity to present their side before cognisance is taken,” the agency submitted.

However, the court asked the agency to cure few defects in the chargesheet and submit more relevant documents before it decides on issuing notices to the accused.

What are the charges against the Gandhis?

Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda (head of the Congress party’s overseas wing) and Suman Dubey (a former journalist believed to be a close aide of the Gandhi family) are also named as founding directors of Young Indian Private Limited (YI). Sonia and Rahul Gandhi together own 76% of this company, which is now facing legal accusations.

The ED has alleged that the Gandhis are the real beneficiaries of YI. The company allegedly took over the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the parent company of the National Herald newspaper, for just ₹50 lakh. According to the ED, these assets were worth ₹2,000 crore at the time and are now valued at around ₹5,000 crore.

Also read | ED charges Sonia, Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case

The ED’s charge sheet claims that it has tracked down proceeds of crime totalling ₹988 crore. This includes real estate and other assets valued at ₹755 crore, shares worth ₹90 crore, and rent of ₹142 crore. The rent has been earned by AJL from its properties in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Panchkula, Lucknow, and Patna, since YI took over the company in the financial year 2010-11.

(With ANI inputs)

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HT News Desk
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