The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Sam Pitroda, the party's overseas unit chief, in the alleged National Herald money laundering case. A special court fixed April 25 as the hearing date.
"The present prosecution complaint shall next be taken up for consideration, on the aspect of cognisance... when Special Counsel for the ED and the Investigating Officer shall also ensure production of the case diaries for perusal by the court," special judge Vishal Gogne said.
This the first time a chargesheet has been filed against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The Gandhis have not responded so far, but Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hit out at a "conspiracy" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dismissed the probe agency's actions.
"This is PM Modi's conspiracy to destroy the Congress... you can make them (the ED) do anything and we don't care about that. We are not afraid of the BJP and PM Modi... we will fight this..." he said.
#WATCH | West Bengal: ED filed prosecution complaint in Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and others in the alleged National Herald money laundering case
— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, "This is PM Modi's conspiracy to destroy the… pic.twitter.com/tWG79lVrPJ
On Saturday the ED had issued notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore. These had been attached - in November 2023 - to the investigation into allegations of money laundering against Congress-controlled Associated Journals Limited, or AJL.
The notices - which sought vacation of the premises - were affixed at properties in Delhi, Mumbai's Bandra area, and the AJL building on Bisheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow.
READ | Probe Agency Takes Over Properties In Congress-Linked Herald Case
Among these are the iconic National Herald House on Delhi's Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
The ED began its investigation in 2021. This was on the basis of a June 2014 order from Delhi's Patiala House court based on a private complaint filed by the BJP's Subramanian Swamy.
Mr Swamy claimed a criminal conspiracy by prominent Congress leaders, including Mrs Gandhi, Mr Gandhi and others, and a company, Young Indian Pvt Ltd, to launder money from the fraudulent takeover of properties belonging to AJL and valued at over Rs 2,000 crore.
The National Herald is a newspaper published by AJL and owned by Young Indian. Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi are majority shareholders in the latter, with 38 per cent shares allotted to each.
Meanwhile, the chargesheet was filed hours after businessman Robert Vadra, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband and Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, was questioned by the probe agency over money laundering allegations linked to a real estate deal in Haryana.
Mr Vadra - who arrived for questioning with Congress supporter shouting 'jab Modi darta hai, ED ko aage karta hai', or 'whenever Modi is scared, he calls on the ED' - dismissed the allegations against him as "political vendetta", pointing out he has spent hours answering questions.
READ | "Political Vendetta": Vadra Slams Summons, Marches To Agency Office
The swipe was a reference to repeated claims by the Congress and other opposition parties - that the PM uses central agencies like the ED to harass and target rival politicians, particularly before elections.
The case involving Mr Vadra is about the purchase of land in Haryana - by his company, Skylight Hospitality - in 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore. He then got a permit to develop a housing society and the land value spiked. He then sold it to real estate developers DLF for Rs 58 crore.
The Congress was in power in the state at the time, but the party and Bhupinder Hooda, who was then the Chief Minister, has denied any wrongdoing.
With input from agencies
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