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Informist, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Monday issued notices to the Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi on Enforcement Directorate's plea against a lower court's refusal to take cognisance of the prosecution complaint against the two in the National Herald money laundering case. The high court will hear the Enforcement Directorate's plea next in March 2026.

 

Last week, Vishal Gogne, special judge in the Rouse Avenue Court, said that the enforcement agency's prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, was not maintainable since the case was based on a private complaint filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy before a magistrate and not a first information report. Gogne said that an investigation and the related prosecution complaint for a money laundering case cannot stand without a first information report.

 

Challenging the Rouse Avenue Court's order, the probe agency moved the high court. The probe agency argued that essentially the lower court had given a "hall pass" to a category of money launderers only on the ground that the scheduled offence in the present case was reported by a private individual. The lower court order "suffers from the vice of judicial legislation" and has "erroneously declined" taking cognisance of the money laundering offence. The lower court's verdict declining to take cognisance was an attempt "to amend or rewrite the statute" especially Section 2(1)(u) of the 2002 Act, relating to proceeds of crime and Section 2(1)(y) regarding meaning of scheduled offence. 

 

The National Herald Case relates to allegations of financial irregularities and misappropriation of funds pertaining to Young Indian Pvt. Ltd.'s acquisition of Congress-controlled Associated Journals Ltd. Swamy had filed the original complaint and alleged that Young Indian had taken over the assets of Associated Journals in a "malicious" bid to acquire properties worth more than INR 20 billion.

 

Associated Journals publishes National Herald and the latter is owned by Young Indian. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young India, each holding a 38% stake.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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