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New Delhi, October 30 (IANS) A special court in Delhi, hearing the money laundering case related to National Herald, has adjourned the proceedings till November 7, seeking clarification from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on certain aspects of the chargesheet filed against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others.
Special judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogné, presiding over the case at the Rouse Avenue court, said the clarifications were necessary before proceeding to take cognizance of the prosecution complaint filed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case, which stems from ED allegations that top Congress leaders had conspired to gain control over the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) – publisher of the National Herald newspaper – is in the pre-cognizance stage.
In the previous hearing, the court had also directed the central agency to provide additional details about certain aspects of its investigation before taking any decision on taking cognizance.
In its prosecution complaint, the ED has accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders of being involved in a conspiracy to grab assets worth over Rs 2,000 crore of AJL through Young Indian Pvt Ltd, in which the Gandhi family has a majority stake.
The Rouse Avenue court had reserved its order on July 14 after hearing detailed arguments by the federal anti-money laundering agency as well as the proposed accused, including the Gandhi family.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, representing Sonia Gandhi, had described the money laundering allegations as “really strange” and “unprecedented”, claiming that there was no concrete asset involved.
Furthermore, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the All India Congress Committee’s efforts to revive the pre-independence era newspaper were “misinterpreted” as a bid to sell its assets.
Highlighting the company’s non-profit objectives, senior lawyer RS Cheema, representing Rahul Gandhi, said National Herald was never a commercial institution and the AICC just wanted to bring the newspaper back on track.
The dispute over the assets of National Herald first came to light in 2012 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint in the trial court, accusing Congress leaders of fraud and breach of trust in the acquisition of AJL.
–IANS
PDS/PGH