National Herald case: High Court notice to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi on ED plea

New Delhi: Delhi high court Monday sought responses from Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other accused on an ED plea challenging a trial court order that refused to take cognisance of the agency's charge-sheet in the National Herald money laundering case, while declining to grant any immediate stay.

Justice Ravinder Dudeja issued notice on ED's petition and on a connected application seeking a stay of the Dec 16 order, listing the matter for a detailed hearing on March 12, 2026.


The trial court had held that cognisance of ED's complaint was "impermissible in law" because the probe was not founded on a FIR under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), but arose from a private complaint.

The case centres on alleged misuse of funds and transfer of control of Associated Journals Ltd - publisher of National Herald - to Young Indian, a private company tied to Congress functionaries. ED has accused the Gandhis, Congress functionaries Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young Indian of conspiracy and money laundering.

Appearing for ED, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said the trial court failed to appreciate that the PMLAprobe rested on scheduled offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under IPC, of which cognisance had already been taken by a magistrate and upheld through Supreme Court. That placed the case on a firmer legal footing than a police FIR, he said.

Mehta contended that cognisance taken by a competent court on a private complaint carried a higher legal standing than an FIR, where cognisance could still be declined even after a charge-sheet. He said PMLA does not prescribe how a scheduled offence must be registered, requiring only the existence of allegations of criminal activity relating to such offences, not that they necessarily arise from an FIR.

During the hearing, the court asked whether cognisance of the private complaint was taken after examination of the complainant. Mehta replied in the affirmative and said witnesses had also been examined.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Gandhis, opposed any interim relief. "There is a perspective, contrary to what my friend has said," he submitted, as the court proceeded to issue notice without granting a stay.

The trial court had ruled that investigation and filing of a charge-sheet for money laundering were "not maintainable" without an FIR under PMLA, stressing that ED's action flowed from a private complaint. Having declined cognisance on a question of law, it said other arguments on merits need not be examined.

The court also recorded that despite receiving a complaint from BJP's Subramanian Swamy and a summoning order in 2014, CBI did not register an FIR for the alleged scheduled offences.


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