National Herald case: Court to decide on ED charge sheet against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi on July 29

A special court on Monday reserved its verdict on whether to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) money laundering complaint against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald newspaper case. Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court will pronounce the verdict on July 29.

Representing the Gandhis, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued on July 4 that the ED's case is "truly a strange one," and "more than strange, unprecedented," highlighting that it's an alleged case of money laundering "without any property, without use or projection of property."

Conversely, the federal agency's counsel contended it's a 'classic' case of money laundering. The ED alleges that the Gandhis held a 76% majority stake in Young Indian (YI), which purportedly usurped assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL)-publisher of the National Herald-in exchange for a ₹90 crore loan. The agency argued that YI was used as a 'vehicle' to allegedly usurp AJL assets worth ₹2,000 crore. They further claimed that after acquiring AJL, the Gandhi-controlled Young Indian announced it would cease publishing the National Herald.

The ED filed its complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, M/s Young India, M/s Dotex Merchandise, and Sunil Bhandari on April 9. The seven accused face charges of money laundering involving proceeds of crime with a current market value exceeding ₹5,000 crore.