National Herald case: ED moves Delhi HC against trial court order refusing cognisance of charge sheet against Gandhis

The ED has accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of conspiracy and money laundering. File pic

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday approached the Delhi High Court (HC) challenging a trial court order that refused to take cognisance of its prosecution complaint against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others in the National Herald case, news agency PTI reported.

The plea is likely to come up for hearing next week.

IN PHOTOS: Maoist-sensitive Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra gets new police station

1 hour agoPHOTO GALLERY

The ED has assailed the trial court's order issued on Wednesday, which held that taking cognisance of the agency's complaint was "impermissible in law" as it was not based on a first information report (FIR). The court ruled that an investigation and the consequent prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are not maintainable in the absence of an FIR for a scheduled offence, PTI reported.

The trial court noted that the ED's probe stemmed from a private complaint and not from an FIR. It said that as cognisance was being declined on a pure question of law, it was not necessary to examine arguments on the merits of the allegations.

The court further observed that despite a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy and the summoning order issued in 2014, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not registered an FIR in connection with the alleged scheduled offence so far, PTI reported.

"However, the ED went ahead with recording an ECIR relating to money laundering on June 30, 2021, when no FIR (with the CBI or any other law enforcement agency) existed in relation to the scheduled offence," the court said.

ED alleges Rs 2,000-crore AJL assets were taken over through Young Indian

The ED has accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and private firm Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering.

The central probe agency has alleged that properties worth around Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which publishes the National Herald newspaper, were acquired through fraudulent means. It has further claimed that the Gandhis held a 76 per cent stake in Young Indian, which allegedly usurped AJL's assets in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan.

(With PTI inputs)