- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue court has confirmed that notices and prosecution complaints (chargesheets) have been properly served to all proposed accused, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others, in the National Herald case. However, since a notice for A4 (Sam Pitroda) was reportedly sent to an alternate email today, the court decided to defer further proceedings and hear arguments on the issue of cognizance on the next scheduled dates, which are now set for May 21 and 22, 2025.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju requested the court to direct all respondents to submit their replies in the case. Conversely, Senior Advocate Pramod Dubey, representing Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd—one of the accused firms—opposed such a directive at this stage. Acknowledging the arguments, Special Judge Vishal Gogne stated he could not order all proposed accused to file replies and noted that other advocates requested time to review the case documents.
In the proceedings, Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and RS Cheema appeared virtually for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, respectively. Other defense lawyers included Sushil Bajaj and Madhav Khurana, representing Suman Dubey and Young Indian, respectively.
The court had previously issued notices to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others regarding charges filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to money laundering under the National Herald case. The judge emphasized that accused persons have the right to be heard at the stage of cognizance, which is fundamental to a fair trial. The court considered whether a notice must be issued under Section 223 of the CrPC, and ASG SV Raju clarified that there was no objection to issuing the notice, citing relevant judgments including Tarsem Lal.
The court examined whether the provisions of Section 223 are compatible with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), affirming that the right to be heard at any stage enhances the right to a fair trial and should be upheld. The ED maintained that under the new legal framework, cognizance cannot be taken without hearing the accused, asserting transparency and that they are providing accused parties an opportunity to present their case before proceeding.
The ED filed a prosecution complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others, including several companies, under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA, relating to money laundering. The complaint also involves charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 403, 406, 420, along with Section 120(B), stemming from predicate offenses that are being tried in the same court—specifically, the case recorded under Complaint No. 18/2019.
The court highlighted that both the predicate offense and the money laundering case must be jointly tried in the same jurisdiction, in accordance with Section 44(1)(c) of the PMLA. The ongoing case is a part of the legal proceedings initiated by Subramanian Swamy against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and associated entities in the Delhi court.
