Delhi HC Defers ED's Plea Against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi In National Herald Case

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging a trial court order which had refused to take cognisance of its prosecution complaint against Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and others in the National Herald money laundering case.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma deferred the proceedings after noting that the matter required substantive hearing and scheduled the ED's revision petition for arguments to March 9.

The federal anti-money laundering agency has assailed the December 16, 2025 order passed by a Special Judge at Rouse Avenue Court dismissing its prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and declining to take cognisance of alleged offences.

Earlier, while issuing notice on the ED's plea, the Delhi High Court had observed that "the matter requires consideration" and directed the respondents, including Gandhis, to file their replies.

Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued that the trial court erred in law by holding that a prosecution complaint under the PMLA cannot be founded on a scheduled offence arising from a private complaint.

The ED submitted that "the cognizance taken by the competent court on a private complaint stands on a much higher footing than the FIR registered by the police".

It further contended that criminal law can be set into motion either through police investigation or by way of a private complaint before a magistrate, and therefore the Special Judge could not have rejected the prosecution complaint on that ground alone.

The high-profile case relates to allegations that senior Congress leaders conspired to illegally acquire control over assets worth more than Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald newspaper, by paying a nominal sum of Rs 50 lakh through Young Indian, a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders.

The controversy over the National Herald's assets came into focus in 2012 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a private complaint in a trial court, alleging that Congress leaders had engaged in cheating and breach of trust in the process of acquiring AJL.

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