Delhi Court Dismisses Complaint Against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi in National Herald Case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday declined to take cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering case against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald case. However, the court clarified that the central agency is free to continue its investigation.

The court also ruled that Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, are not entitled to receive a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against them by the Delhi Police in connection with the matter.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts set aside a previous order by a Magistrate court that had allowed access to the FIR.

“Complaint dismissed," Gogne stated, while adding that the court may consider further submissions in the matter, as a fresh FIR has been filed by the Delhi Police.

In its chargesheet, the ED had named Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise, and Sunil Bhandari as the primary accused. The agency alleged that assets worth over Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) were wrongfully taken over.

Earlier, Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had filed an FIR on October 3, listing the Gandhis, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Young Indian, and others as accused of cheating, dishonest misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy. The FIR was lodged based on information provided by the ED under Section 66 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED has been probing the money laundering aspects of the National Herald case, following a court’s cognizance of a criminal complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

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