National Herald case explainer: All you need to know in 10 points

The Congress has come out all guns blazing a day after the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court in New Delhi in the National Herald case, accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore.

 

The Congress called the ED's chargesheet vendetta politics and seizing of assets a "state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law", and added that it only shows the panic and moral bankruptcy of the Narendra Modi government. The BJP, on the other hand, said the law will take its own course and that probe agencies will not be affected by "threats" of the Congress.

 

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh and Congress leader Pawan Khera took to social media to counter the allegations against the Gandhis in the case.

 

What is the National Herald case involving Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi?

 

1. The National Herald was an Indian newspaper, under the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), established in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru. The paper, and its Urdu counterpart, Quami Awaz and the Hindi Navjivan stopped publication in 2008 citing financial troubles.

 

2. Associated Journals Limited (AJL) is an unlisted public company limited by shares, incorporated on 20 November 1937, with its registered office at Herald House, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi. The share holders were about 5,000 freedom fighters- most of them Congressmen or supporters of the party.

 

3. AJL owns real estate property in various cities including New Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Mumbai, Indore, Patna and Panchkula. The property is valued at₹5000 crore.

 

4. In December 2010, Young Indian, a Section 25 company in which 76 per cent ownership is with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, acquired almost the entire stake of AJL.

 

5. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has alleged that Congress leaders were involved in cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of AJL by ousting the other shareholders of the publication and transferring the assets to YIL. He filed a case in 2012.

 

6. Among the charges are: no fair valuation of the assets before handing over the equity in exchange of waiving of the loan of Rs 90 crore; loan given to AJL for by the Congress was ‘illegal’ as it came from party funds and that YIL had taken over the assets of AJL in a malicious manner.

 

7. The Trial court asked the accused to appear on 7 August 2014, but the Congress leaders obtained a stay order from the High Court on grounds that YIL was not a for profit organisation but was created for purposes of charity. The commercial transactions that had been conducted were merely for transferring shares of the company. They also said that Swamy’s allegations were politically motivated.

 

8. On December 7, 2015, the Delhi High Court dismissed the appeals filed by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others against summons to face trial. They are yet to appear before the court.

 

9. The Enforcement Directorate has meanwhile, on separate dates attached properties worth Rs.815.9 crores belonging to the National Herald.

 

10. On April 15, 2025, the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Sam Pitroda in connection with the National Herald case.

India