The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday formally named Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with party veteran Sam Pitroda, in a chargesheet connected to the long-standing National Herald money laundering case. This marks the first time that the mother-son duo has been officially chargesheeted in the matter. The special court, presided over by Judge Vishal Gogne, has scheduled the hearing for April 25, during which the court will deliberate on taking cognisance of the charges and has asked the ED’s special counsel and the investigating officer to produce case diaries for review. This latest development comes in the wake of ED’s recent action on Saturday, where it issued notices regarding the takeover of immovable assets worth ₹661 crore—properties previously attached in 2023—including the prominent National Herald House in Delhi and additional sites in Mumbai and Lucknow.
The origins of the case trace back to a 2014 complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, alleging a criminal conspiracy by top Congress leaders to acquire and launder funds through Young Indian Pvt Ltd, a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold a 38% stake. According to the ED, the alleged fraud involved the misappropriation of assets belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper, with property valuations reportedly exceeding ₹2,000 crore. The probe agency asserts that Young Indian was used to illegally assume control of AJL’s assets without paying appropriate consideration, thus constituting a case of money laundering. Despite the gravity of the charges and the massive valuation of the properties involved, neither the Congress party nor the Gandhis have issued a formal response.
Coinciding with the filing of this chargesheet, businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Priyanka Gandhi and brother-in-law of Rahul Gandhi, was also questioned by the ED regarding a separate money laundering case linked to a real estate deal in Haryana. Vadra condemned the interrogation as politically motivated, accusing the Modi government of using federal agencies like the ED to harass opposition leaders, especially in the run-up to elections. The case against Vadra involves the acquisition of land in 2008 for ₹7.5 crore by his firm Skylight Hospitality, which was later sold to DLF for ₹58 crore after securing a development permit. Congress supporters claim these actions form a broader pattern of political vendetta aimed at discrediting the party’s leadership.
