Delhi Court Declines Cognisance in National Herald ED Case
Delhi Court Declines Cognisance in National Herald ED Case
Delhi court declines to take cognisance of the ED's chargesheet against Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case, allowing the probe to continue as ED appeals.
Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday declined to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others in the National Herald money laundering case. The judge said the chargesheet is based on a private complaint, not on an FIR of a predicate offence, making its cognisance impermissible at this stage. The court noted that the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing has already lodged an FIR, so it would be premature to adjudicate on the merits.
The ED has accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with late Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, of conspiracy and money laundering. It alleges they acquired assets worth about ₹2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited, publisher of National Herald, and that the Gandhis held a 76% share in Young Indian, which allegedly usurped AJL's assets in exchange for a ₹90 crore loan.
The court's decision means the ED can continue its investigation, and the agency has said it will file an appeal. It also refused the ED's request for copies of the FIR for Gandhi and others, deeming such copies not due at this stage. Legal observers say the case tests the boundaries of money-laundering charges arising from private complaints versus direct FIRs, a point the ED has challenged as the litigation proceeds. Supporters of the Congress have framed the move as vendetta, while opponents say it demonstrates the need for rigorous scrutiny of asset transfers in the National Herald affair. As the legal process unfolds, parties await the next procedural step.
