A Delhi court on Friday issued notices to Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald money-laundering case and emphasised that the accused had the right to be heard during the cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate.
“The right to be heard at any stage of the proceedings breathes life into the right to fair trial,” special judge Vishal Gogne said.
He said the “proviso to Section 223 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), which granted an accused the right to be heard on the aspect of cognisance, was available in favour of the proposed accused in a complaint pertaining to Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)...”
The judge also issued notices to Congress leader Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd.
“Let a copy of the present order, complaint and accompanying documents be sent in digital form along with the notice to the proposed accused,” the court said while posting the matter for May 8.
In the 14-page order, the judge observed: “In this adherence to the principles of fair hearing, the right to be heard is not inconsistent with any of the powers vested in the
ED for investigation or the presumptions as well as burden of proof stipulated under the PMLA.”
The ED, which filed its chargesheet on April 15, began its probe in 2021 after a magistrate’s court took cognisance of a complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.
The complaint, the ED said, highlighted a “criminal conspiracy” by several prominent political figures, including Sonia and Rahul, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, Dubey, Pitroda and the private company Young Indian, for alleged money laundering in connection with the fraudulent takeover of properties
valued over ₹2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
The ED has claimed its investigation has “conclusively” found that Young Indian, which was “beneficially owned” by Sonia and Rahul, “acquired” AJL properties worth ₹2,000 crore for a mere ₹50 lakh, significantly undervaluing its worth.
Sonia and Rahul are the majority stakeholders of Young Indian, with 38 per cent shares held by each.