A Delhi court on Tuesday deferred its decision on whether to take cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the high-profile National Herald case.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne stated that a further inspection of the case files was necessary before proceeding. “Further inspection of the case files is required to be conducted by the court. Let the investigating officer (IO) appear with the same on August 7 and 8,” the judge ordered. The court had initially reserved its order on July 15, setting July 29 as the date to pronounce it. This came after the court concluded daily hearings on the issue of cognisance, which were held between July 2 and July 15, involving both the ED and the accused.
The ED’s chargesheet in the case involves several senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with late party veterans Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes. Others named in the case include Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and the private entity Young Indian.
Also Read: National Herald case: ED probe quite strange, says Sonia Gandhi
According to the ED, the accused are involved in a criminal conspiracy and money laundering, centered around the alleged fraudulent acquisition of assets worth Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper. The agency has claimed that Young Indian, in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi jointly held a 76 per cent stake, fraudulently took over AJL's assets in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan.
The ED’s chargesheet formally names Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd as accused in the case. The court's decision on cognisance will determine whether to proceed with summoning the accused and moving the case to trial.
Also Read: NH case:Cong adv says AICC attempted to revive AJL, quotes 'poet'
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