Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have filed their written response in the Delhi High Court in the National Herald case.
The National Herald case originated from a private complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy, who accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and Young Indian, a company controlled by the Gandhi family, of fraud, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and misappropriation of property.
They have alleged that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) action was influenced by “extraneous considerations. They argued that this is the only case in the country where the ED has proceeded with a money laundering investigation based on a private complaint. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi contended that the ED itself has consistently maintained that a money laundering investigation cannot begin unless there is an FIR in a scheduled/predicate offence. The response states that before both the trial court and the High Court, the ED has not explained why this case is being treated differently from other cases.
The court held that the matter was based on Swamy’s private complaint before a magistrate and not on an FIR, and therefore could not proceed on that basis. However, on December 16, 2025, the trial court refused to take cognisance of the case. The very next day, December 17, 2025, the ED challenged the trial court’s order before the Delhi High Court.
Rahul and Sonia Gandhi argued that the agency approaching the High Court the very next day reflected the ED’s “extraordinary interest” in the matter.
