On May 2, the court had earlier issued notices to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, as well as to Congress leader Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Young Indian Pvt Ltd, Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, and Sunil Bhandari.
New Delhi, May 8 – A Delhi court has postponed the hearing in the high-profile National Herald money laundering case involving top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The case will now be heard on May 21 and 22, as per the decision taken by Special Judge Vishal Gogne.
The judge deferred the hearing after listening to the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court noted that a notice had been sent to co-accused Sam Pitroda via email only on Thursday. Therefore, the judge said, it would be more suitable to hear the arguments on taking cognisance of the chargesheet on the next date.
The court has also decided to first hear the Enforcement Directorate’s stand before considering a plea made by BJP leader and complainant Subramanian Swamy, who requested a copy of the ED’s chargesheet.
On May 2, the court had earlier issued notices to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, as well as to Congress leader Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Young Indian Pvt Ltd, Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, and Sunil Bhandari.
The court reminded all parties that their “right to be heard” would be protected when it considers whether to take cognisance of the chargesheet.
The judge clearly stated,
“Right to be heard at any stage breathes life into fair trial.”
This statement was made while initially listing the matter for May 8, which has now been deferred.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed the chargesheet in this case under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
- Section 3 deals with the offence of money laundering.
- Section 4 mentions the punishment for money laundering.
The ED started its probe in 2021, after a magistrate court had taken cognisance of a private complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.
According to the ED, the complaint pointed to a “criminal conspiracy” involving many senior political figures. These included Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, besides Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and the private company Young Indian. The case revolves around the alleged fraudulent takeover of assets worth more than Rs. 2,000 crore that belonged to Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
As per official records, both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders in Young Indian, each holding 38% of the company’s shares.
The Gandhis were also questioned by the ED for several hours in relation to this case a few years ago.
Background
The ED began its investigation in 2021, based on a 2014 order by Delhi’s Patiala House Court. The court was responding to a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
Swamy had alleged a criminal conspiracy involving top Congress leaders—including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others—as well as a company named Young Indian Pvt Ltd.
According to Swamy, the Congress leaders misused their powers to take control of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which owns the National Herald newspaper, and transferred assets worth over Rs. 2,000 crore.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders in Young Indian Pvt Ltd, which now owns AJL. Both hold 38% shares each in the company.
Interestingly, on the same day the chargesheet was filed, the ED also questioned Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the brother-in-law of Rahul Gandhi.
He was questioned in a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana.
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