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New Delhi, Nov 30 (PMI NEWS) The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with several others, in connection with the National Herald case, acting on a formal complaint submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The move marks a significant development in the agency’s ongoing money-laundering probe into what it alleges was a large-scale financial conspiracy involving the Congress’s top leadership.
According to official documents and sources, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police filed the FIR on October 3, naming the Gandhis and seven additional accused. Those listed include senior Congress figures Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, companies such as Young Indian (YI) and Dotex Merchandise Ltd, Dotex promoter Sunil Bhandari, and Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald. The FIR also includes “unknown others” as potential accused.
The police have invoked several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)—
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120B: Criminal conspiracy
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403: Dishonest misappropriation of property
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406: Criminal breach of trust
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420: Cheating
Most of the entities and individuals named in the FIR also appear in the ED’s chargesheet filed in April this year. The matter is pending before a Delhi court, which is scheduled to take up the case on December 16.
Congress Slams the FIR as Political Vendetta
The Congress leadership reacted sharply to the FIR.
Party communications chief Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, accused the government of using investigative agencies to intimidate political opponents.
“The Modi-Shah duo is continuing with its mischievous politics of harassment, intimidation, and vendetta against the top leadership of the INC. The National Herald matter is a completely bogus case. Justice will ultimately triumph. Satyameva Jayate.”
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi echoed this sentiment, sarcastically calling the FIR “neither wine new nor bottle new nor glasses new,” and criticizing what he described as repeated attempts to portray a legitimate transaction as money laundering.
Basis of the Case: ED’s Allegations
Authorities said the ED triggered the police action using Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which permits the agency to share evidence with law-enforcement bodies for registration of a predicate offence—a necessary step for sustaining money-laundering charges.
In its communication to the EOW dated September 4, the ED repeated the allegations laid out in its chargesheet. According to the agency:
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A criminal conspiracy was allegedly engineered by senior Congress leaders—including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and the late Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes—along with Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and others.
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The conspiracy purportedly enabled the fraudulent takeover of AJL’s assets, valued at more than ₹2,000 crore, by Young Indian, a private company controlled by the Gandhis.
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The ED claims the accused wrongfully generated “bogus” rental income and created “fake” revenue streams through sham advertising deals connected to AJL properties.
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Young Indian, in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold 38% ownership, allegedly acquired AJL’s assets for just ₹50 lakh, a figure the ED argues grossly undervalues the properties.
The agency further asserts that Sonia Gandhi misused her position as former Congress president to divert public funds for the personal benefit of herself and her son via Young Indian.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have previously been questioned for several hours by the ED in relation to this case.
(pressmediaofindia.com)
