Explore Business Standard
National Herald
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others to respond to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging a trial court order refusing to take cognisance of its chargesheet against them in the National Herald case. Justice Ravinder Dudeja issued notice to the Gandhis and others on the main petition as well as on the ED's application seeking a stay on the December 16 trial court order, which held that cognisance of the agency's complaint in the case was "impermissible in law" as it was not founded on an FIR The high court listed the matter for further hearing on March 12, 2026. While Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the ED in the case, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and R S Cheema represented the Gandhis. In its order, the trial court said an investigation and the consequent prosecution complaint (equivalent to chargesheet) pertaining to the offence of money laundering is "not maintainable" in the absence of an FIR
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday termed the Delhi Police's notice to him, seeking financial and transactional details as part of its probe into the National Herald case, as harassment and said he will fight it legally. Condemning the move, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, questioned the need for a separate police probe when the ED had already filed a chargesheet in connection with the case. The notice issued by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) states that Shivakumar is supposed to have vital information pertaining to the National Herald case registered on October 3 this year, against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. It is very shocking to me. I have provided all the details to the ED. The ED had summoned me and my brother (former MP D K Suresh) also. There is nothing wrong, it is our (party) institution (National Herald, Young India), and we being Congressmen, we have supported the institution, there is no hide and seek, ...
Delhi Police has filed an FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and other accused in the National Herald case on a complaint by the ED as part of the agency's money laundering probe into the high-profile case that alleges that the first family of the party "abused" their position for personal gains. Official sources said the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police filed a complaint against the Gandhis and seven others on October 3. The police has pressed charges under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC in the FIR that names the Gandhis, Congress leaders Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, entities like the Young Indian (YI) and Dotex Merchandise Ltd, Dotex promoter Sunil Bhandari, Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) and unknown others. These entities are also named as an accused (except unknown others) in the ED chargesheet filed before a Delh
A Delhi court on Saturday deferred its order on cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet filed in the National Herald case. Special Judge Vishal Gogne deferred the pronouncement of the order to December 16. The ED has accused Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, as well as late party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, along with Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering. They allegedly acquired properties worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which publishes the National Herald newspaper, the investigation agency had accused. It further alleged that the Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan. The chargesheet names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Pitroda, Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd.
A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case. Special Judge Vishal Gogne said the matter will be heard on July 29. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, as well as Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering over the fraudulent takeover of Rs 2,000 crore worth properties belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper. ED alleges that Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan. The chargesheet names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd.
Keeping the heat on the Congress over the National Herald issue, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj on Tuesday carried a bag with a message about the "loot" in the case as she arrived in Parliament annexe for the committee meeting over the bills proposing simultaneous polls. Her black bag had "National Herald Ki Loot" emblazoned over it in red colour. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are accused in the case, with the Enforcement Directorate charging them with money laundering. The Congress has dismissed the allegation as vendetta by the ruling BJP against its top leaders. Former Supreme Court judge Hemant Gupta, former Law Commission of India chairman B S Chauhan and noted lawyer and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi are among the personalities who will give their views to the Joint Committee of Parliament on simultaneous polls. BJP MP P P Chaudhary is heading the committee.
Union minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case is aimed at protecting the nation's assets from being "taken over by the Gandhi family for personal use". Goyal alleged that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were involved in a conspiracy to take control of the property, originally meant for public interest, through the now-defunct National Herald newspaper. The ED's action in the National Herald case is to save the nation's assets, the Union commerce minister told reporters here. Such property should be returned to the people, he said. It should be utilised for the people and not the Gandhi family, which was trying to keep it for its own interests, he claimed. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others on charges of money laundering in the National Herald case.
In a recently-filed chargesheet in the Associated Journals Limited-Young Indian-National Herald money-laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought confiscation of assets worth Rs 661 crore that it has attached during the course of the investigation, according to official sources. The federal probe agency has also appended the statements of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) that it had recorded in 2022 during their questioning and it is understood that they have denied any wrongdoing, saying the takeover of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian (YI) was not for commercial purposes, the sources told PTI. The chargesheet names 78-year-old former Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi as the accused number one and her son, Rahul Gandhi (54), as the accused number two, besides five others. It was filed by the ED before a competent court here that tries criminal cases against lawmakers on April
A "criminal conspiracy" was carried out by Congress leaders to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of its public company AJL by transferring 99 per cent shares for just Rs 50 lakh to their private company Young Indian, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the majority shareholders, the ED is learnt to have said in its chargesheet in the National Herald case. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was named accused no 1, and her son and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as accused no 2 by the federal probe agency in the prosecution complaint filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before the court of Special Judge Vishal Gogne. The other accused named in the Enforcement Directorate chargesheet filed on April 9 are Congress party associates Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, two companies Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd and Sunil Bhandari (of Dotex Merchandise). The ED has filed the chargesheet under sections 44 and 45 of
The Delhi High Court asked BJP MP Subramanian Swamy and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to file a short note on the submissions in the National Herald case. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed them to file the written note on the arguments within four weeks and said thereafter, the written submissions will be accepted with costs of Rs 15,000. The court listed the matter for arguments on October 29. The high court was hearing a plea moved by Swamy seeking to lead evidence before the trial court in the National Herald case, in which the Gandhis and others are accused. It had, on February 22, 2021, issued notice to the Gandhis, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Oscar Fernandes (since died), Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young India (YI), sought their stand on Swamy's plea and stayed the proceedings in the case. The court said on Monday that the interim order of stay shall continue till the next date of hearing in the matter. The Congress leaders w
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached immovable assets and equity shares worth about Rs 752 crore as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation against the Congress-promoted National Herald newspaper and companies linked to it. The provisional attachment order came as the elections in five states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram are in progress and the counting of votes is scheduled to be held on December 3. The Congress called the agency action as "petty vendetta tactics" and dubbed the ED a "coalition partner" of the BJP which, it claimed, is staring at a certain defeat in the assembly polls. The federal probe agency alleged in a statement that in this case the shareholders and donors of the Congress were "cheated" by the office-bearers of AJL and the party. A provisional attachment order has been issued by the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Associated Journals Lt