National Herald Case: Delhi Court Declines Cognisance of ED Chargesheet, Probe to Continue

Key Points:

On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, a Delhi court refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in a money laundering case against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others related to the National Herald matter. However, the court allowed the ED to continue its investigation and said it could appeal the order.

The order was passed by Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court, who ruled that the ED’s prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was not legally maintainable. The court said the case was based on a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and not on a First Information Report (FIR), which is a necessary legal trigger for taking cognisance under money laundering laws.

“Cognisance of the present complaint is impermissible in law,” the judge said, adding that an investigation for money laundering cannot be sustained solely on a complaint filed by a private individual under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court noted that while Swamy’s complaint existed, no FIR had initially been registered by the CBI, yet the ED proceeded by filing an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

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The court also pointed out that the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has already registered a fresh FIR in the case, making it premature and imprudent to rule on the ED’s prosecution complaint at this stage. The judge dismissed the complaint for now but said further submissions may be considered once the investigation progresses.

In a separate ruling, the court held that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and the other accused are not entitled to receive a copy of the FIR registered by the Delhi Police at this stage. The order set aside an earlier magistrate court direction that had allowed them access to the FIR.

The ED’s chargesheet names Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, and others as accused. The agency has alleged that assets worth more than Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper, were illegally taken over.

According to the ED, 99 per cent of AJL’s shares were transferred to Young Indian, a not-for-profit company, for just Rs 50 lakh, despite AJL owning prime real estate assets across Delhi, Mumbai, and other cities. The Gandhis hold 38 per cent shares each in Young Indian. The agency has claimed that senior Congress leaders extended an interest-free loan of more than Rs 90 crore to AJL, and that Young Indian was created to allegedly launder assets worth over Rs 2,000 crore.

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The National Herald Case

The money laundering probe stems from a criminal complaint filed in 2012 by Subramanian Swamy, then a BJP Rajya Sabha MP. He accused Congress leaders of cheating and criminal conspiracy in acquiring AJL’s properties. Based on information shared by the ED under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, the Delhi Police’s EOW registered an FIR on October 3, 2025, against the Gandhis and others for offences including cheating, misappropriation of property, and criminal breach of trust.

Reacting to the court’s order, the Congress claimed the decision exposed the “illegality and malafide” intent behind the ED’s actions. “Truth has prevailed,” the party said in a post on X, alleging political vendetta and misuse of investigative agencies by the Modi government. The Congress insisted there was no money laundering, no proceeds of crime, and no illegal transfer of property.

Founded in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru and others, the National Herald was published by AJL and was long seen as a Congress-linked newspaper. Although it ceased operations in 2008 after accumulating debts of over Rs 90 crore, the ED is expected to challenge the Rouse Avenue Court’s order, while investigations by both the agency and the Delhi Police continue.

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