New Delhi, May 2
A court here on Friday issued notices to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in the alleged National Herald money laundering case.
The Rouse Avenue Courts asked the Gandhis and others accused to show cause as to why cognisance should not be taken on the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Last week, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne temporarily declined to issue notice on ED’s prosecution complaint and asked the federal anti-money laundering agency to place the requisite documents on record and remove the defects.
As the prosecution contended that the court can take cognisance of a charge sheet without hearing the accused and, therefore, notices should be issued, the judge had said: "I cannot pass such an order until satisfied."
The court had then posted the matter for hearing on May 2.
The ED recently filed a prosecution complaint against senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, in the National Herald case. Others named in the charge sheet include Congress Overseas Chief Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others.
The charge sheet, filed before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Courts, values the alleged proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 988 crore. It is alleged that the Congress leadership had misappropriated property belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald, by converting public trusts into personal assets.