National Herald Case: Court Defers Cognisance Decision To 16 December

On Saturday, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi deferred, yet again, its decision on whether it will take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in the National Herald money-laundering matter.

The court has now fixed 16 December for pronouncing its order.

The ED’s chargesheet names several senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey. It places them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency has alleged financial misconduct linked to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the company that originally published the National Herald.

Earlier hearings saw ASG SV Raju, arguing for the ED, request that all accused be directed to submit their written responses.

This was resisted by Senior Advocate Pramod Dubey, who represents Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd. He argued that imposing such a requirement at this stage was unwarranted.

Several other defence lawyers also sought additional time to go through the extensive case paperwork.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi joined the proceedings virtually on behalf of Sonia Gandhi, while RS Cheema represented Rahul Gandhi.

Advocate Sushil Bajaj appeared for Suman Dubey, and Senior Advocate Madhav Khurana represented Young Indian.

ASG Raju continued to appear for the Enforcement Directorate.

Court Stresses ‘Right to Be Heard’

The court had earlier issued notices to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others. It observed that they are entitled to a ‘right to be heard’ before any decision on cognisance is made.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne pointed out that this right, backed by Section 223 of the new criminal code (BNSS), is integral to maintaining fairness in judicial proceedings.

According to the court, Section 223 affords the accused a specific opportunity to present their stance even before cognisance is taken.

The judge clarified that this does not contradict the PMLA. He said it reinforces transparency and procedural fairness. The judge further noted that the BNSS aims to strengthen protections for the accused.

The ED submitted that the revised legal provisions require the court to hear the accused prior to taking cognisance of complaints filed under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA.

The court acknowledged that the predicate offence in the case, involving IPC Sections 403, 406, 420 and 120B, is already on trial at Rouse Avenue Court. It noted that this trial is linked to the money-laundering proceedings.

Under PMLA rules, both matters must be handled by the same court.

The National Herald case originated after former MP Subramanian Swamy accused Congress leaders and AJL-linked entities of misusing funds.