National Herald case: ED files charge sheet against Sonia, Rahul

Next hearing on April 25

Special judge Vishal Gogne examined the charge sheet, filed on April 9, on the point of cognisance and posted the matter for further proceedings on April 25.

The chargesheet also names Congress leader Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as accused persons.

"The present prosecution complaint shall next be taken up for consideration on the aspect of cognisance before this court on April 25, 2025 when the special counsel for the ED and IO shall also ensure the production of the case diaries for perusal by the court," the judge said.

Also read: Explained: What’s the National Herald case that haunts Congress

ED to plead for transfer of CBI case

The charge sheet was filed under Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of Prevention of Money Laundering Act by ED's special public prosecutor N K Matta.

"Let the complaint be checked and registered. The Ahlmad (court staff) shall ensure that the entire file/documents are properly paginated. The ED is directed to file a soft copy of the complaint and documents in readable/OCR format by the next date," the judge said.

The special judge dealing with the cases of lawmakers also noted the submission of the ED, which said it would be moving an application before the district judge for the transfer of the case related to the predicate offence, being probed by the CBI for alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy and other offences, based on which the ED had started its investigation in the present matter, from another court to Judge Gogne's court.

Also read: Not afraid of Modi, will not be intimidated: Rahul on National Herald case

The predicate offence is required to be tried by the same court which takes cognisance of the offence under Section 3 PMLA, the judge said, and Sonia and Rahul were members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively.

Sessions judge to take final call

"Essentially, the two offences viz the predicate offence and the PMLA offence are required to be tried by the same court," the judge said.

Since the allegations in the present complaint were arising from the predicate offence, the file in the predicate offence were required to be called for perusal, the court added.

"However, the power of assignment or transfer of a matter is not vested with this court and is rather the prerogative of the Principal District & Sessions Judge, Rouse Avenue Courts Complex, New Delhi," the court pointed out.

Also read: ED attaches National Herald assets: BJP blasts Gandhis, says must pay for ‘sins’

‘Vendetta politics’, says Congress

The Congress has described the chargesheet as vendetta politics and claimed seizing of assets in the case was a "state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law".

"Filing chargesheets against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but politics of vendetta and intimidation by the prime minister and the home minister gone completely berserk," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

"Seizing the assets of the National Herald is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law," the Congress leader said.

He asserted that the Congress and its leadership would not be silenced and that the truth would prevail. The Congress has also decided to hold protests outside the ED office in New Delhi. Leaders and workers have been asked to assemble at the AICC headquarters on 24 Akbar Road at 10 am.

The Modi-Shah regime’s vendetta against the Opposition knows no bounds. The witch hunt against Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji and LOP Sh. @RahulGandhi ji, using the frivolous, politically motivated & fabricated National Herald case, is a clear example of their attempt at intimidation and…

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) April 15, 2025

ED probe

The ED investigation began in 2021 after a metropolitan magistrate in Patiala House courts in Delhi took cognisance of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.

Also read: Rahul on thin ice, though Parliament can do with some levity: BJP on SC order

The complaint, the ED said, highlighted a "criminal conspiracy" by several prominent political figures, including the first family of the Congress party led by Sonia, her MP son Rahul, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes aside from Dubey, Pitroda and a private company Young Indian for their alleged involvement in money laundering in relation to the fraudulent takeover of properties valued over Rs 2,000 crore belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

"The legal proceedings against the accused have faced challenges but have been upheld by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India, allowing the investigation to proceed," the ED said.

National Herald and the Gandhis

AJL is the publisher of the National Herald news platform (newspaper and web portal), owned by Young Indian Private Limited.

Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul are majority shareholders of Young Indian with 38 per cent shares held by each one of them. They were questioned for hours by the ED in this case a few years ago. The ED claimed its investigation has "conclusively" found that Young Indian, a private company "beneficially owned" by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, "acquired" AJL properties worth Rs 2,000 crore for a mere Rs 50 lakh, significantly undervaluing its worth.

Also read: ‘Treated like terrorists’, says Cong as cops surround party HQ, Sonia, Rahul residences

"Young Indian and AJL properties were used for generation of further proceeds of crime in the form of bogus donations to the tune of Rs 18 crore, bogus advance rent to the tune of Rs 38 crore and bogus advertisements of Rs 29 crore," the ED has alleged.

(With inputs from agencies)