New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) criminal revision petition challenging a trial court order refusing to take cognisance of its prosecution complaint against Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and others in the alleged National Herald money laundering case.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Manoj Jain deferred the matter and listed it for further hearing on October 9.
The ED has challenged the December 16, 2025, order passed by a Special Judge at the Rouse Avenue Court here, which had declined to take cognisance of its prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), holding that it was not maintainable in law.
Apart from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the ED has arrayed Congress Overseas chief Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited as proposed accused in the case.
The federal anti-money laundering agency has contended that the trial court erred in law by holding that a prosecution complaint under the PMLA cannot be founded on a scheduled offence arising from a private complaint.
Earlier, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, had argued that if the trial court’s interpretation was allowed to stand, it would render the PMLA “otiose and redundant”.
The ED has submitted that “the cognisance taken by the competent court on a private complaint stands on a much higher footing than the FIR registered by the police”.
It further contended that criminal law can be set into motion either through police investigation or by way of a private complaint before a Magistrate, and therefore, the Special Judge could not have rejected the prosecution complaint on that ground alone.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had observed that “the matter requires consideration” and issued notice to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the other respondents on the revision petition.
The high-profile case relates to allegations that senior Congress leaders conspired to illegally acquire control over assets worth more than Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald newspaper, by paying a nominal sum of Rs 50 lakh through Young Indian, a company in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders.
The controversy over the National Herald’s assets dates back to 2012, when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a private complaint before a trial court alleging cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of AJL by Young Indian.
(IANS)
