On December 22, 2025, Delhi High Court has issued notice to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other accused in the National Herald money laundering case. Actually, in this case, Rouse Avenue Court had refused to take action on the charge sheet against Rahul-Sonia. After this the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenged in the Delhi High Court.

Delhi High Court gave hearing date next year

Delhi High Court has accepted the petition of ED and given the next date of hearing as March 12, 2026. On behalf of ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in his argument in Delhi High Court said that the final conclusion is that in exchange of the amount of Rs 50 lakh, the accused have received property worth Rs 2,000 crore.

Tushar Mehta said that in June 2014, a private complaint was filed by an individual, on which the lower court had taken cognizance and later the Delhi High Court had put a stay on it.

Names of many big personalities included in the charge sheet

ED had named Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited in its charge sheet. On ED’s investigation, Congress’s argument was that this is an act of political vendetta, whereas ED claims that this is a serious economic crime in which evidence of fraud and money laundering has been found.

ED accuses Sonia-Rahul of big scam

ED alleges that Congress leaders, as part of a conspiracy, acquired Associated Journals Ltd. To take over the assets of (AJL) worth Rs 2,000 crore, it was acquired through private company ‘Young Indian’ for only Rs 50 lakh. Sonia and Rahul hold 76% shares of this company.

In this case, the ‘income earned from crime’ was considered to be Rs 988 crore. Also, the market value of the associated properties has been said to be Rs 5,000 crore.

What is National Herald case?

The National Herald case in which the charge sheet has been filed against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi is related to the National Herald newspaper. It was started in 1938 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru along with 5 thousand freedom fighters. This newspaper was published by AJL. This newspaper was closed in 2008. Then news of controversy and scam on its acquisition started emerging.

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has praised former Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He single-handedly ensured that Christmas could be celebrated in the southern state. BJP has also targeted this. At a program, Reddy said, Christmas is being celebrated in Telangana only because of the sacrifice of Sonia Gandhi.

Speaking at the Christmas program organized by the government at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad, he said, ‘If today people are celebrating Christmas in Telangana. So it is because of Sonia Gandhi’s important role and sacrifice.

He said that the month of December has special significance for Telangana. Sonia Gandhi’s birthday also falls in this month. The state was also formed in this month.

BJP said- This statement will make Gandhi-Nehru family happy
At the same time, BJP has retaliated on this entire matter. He said that the Chief Minister has made a wrong comparison and politicized a religious festival. BJP spokesperson RP Singh said, ,Sonia Gandhi never showed faith in Hindu beliefs. She follows Christianity since her birth. Many people told that when she was in power, Christmas was celebrated at her Janpath residence. Not Diwali. ,

He said that everyone has the right to follow their beliefs. A head of state’s comment on this is not correct. BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli described the statement issued by Reddy as making the Nehru-Gandhi family happy.

Kohli said, it can be understood that everyone in the Congress party wants to please the Nehru-Gandhi family. What is the reason why they are saying that you are celebrating Christmas? Why are Congress party leaders looking at Muslims or Christians from the perspective of vote bank?

In the Parliament, leaders are often seen accusing each other and many times the opposition has been seen creating ruckus over the policies of the government, but when a leader is going through a difficult phase, they console each other by calling each other. A similar incident has come to light regarding former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. Ashok Tandon, who was media advisor to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has told about an important conversation that took place between the two years ago.

Ashok Tandon has made many revelations in his book ‘Atal Memoirs’ regarding the NDA government from 1998 to 2004. In the book, Ashok Tandon also mentioned the incident during the Parliament attack of December 13, 2001, when there was a phone conversation between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi. It is told in the book that when the Parliament was attacked, Vajpayee was at his residence and was watching the action of the security forces on television with his colleagues.

According to Ashok Tandon, ‘Suddenly a call came from Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He said- I am worried about you, are you safe? On this, Atal ji said – Sonia ji, I am safe, I was worried whether you are in the Parliament House… take care of yourself.

Ashok Tandon has also mentioned that incident in the book, when many BJP leaders wanted to make Atal Bihari Vajpayee the Prime Minister. He has written that Vajpayee completely rejected the suggestions coming from within his party that he himself should go to Rashtrapati Bhavan and hand over the post of Prime Minister to his number two leader Lal Krishna Advani. According to Ashok Tandon, ‘Vajpayee was not ready for this. He was of the opinion that a popular Prime Minister becoming President on the strength of majority would not be a good sign for Indian parliamentary democracy. This would be the beginning of a very wrong tradition and he would be the last person to support such a move.

According to Ashok Tandon, Atal Bihari Vajpayee invited the leaders of the main opposition party Congress, so that a consensus could be created for the post of President. He said, ‘I remember that Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee and Dr. Manmohan Singh came to meet him. Atal Bihari Vajpayee officially revealed for the first time that NDA has nominated Dr. A.P.J. for the Presidential election. It has been decided to make Abdul Kalam the candidate… There was silence in the meeting for a few moments. Then Sonia Gandhi broke the silence and said that we are shocked by your selection, we have no option but to support him, but we will discuss your proposal and take a decision.

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In the National Herald case, the Delhi court on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) has refused to take cognizance of the ED charge sheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and 5 other people. Congress has called it the victory of truth. The party said that the illegal actions and conspiracies of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have failed and the propaganda has collapsed.

Truth’s victory is certain: Kharge

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge posted on Twitter, ‘When false allegations were made to defame National Herald, Congress Party and our leaders, I had also said that if we are not afraid of the British, then what are BJP-RSS or Modi-Shah. Today the court has also foiled this conspiracy hatched out of malicious intent for political revenge by declaring the action of the Modi government illegal.

He said that no matter how forcefully the vote-thief government tries to crush democracy, we will continue to fight for the 140 crore Indian citizens and to save the Constitution. Kharge said, ‘The victory of truth is certain.’

Nothing in National Herald case: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that there is nothing in the National Herald case. He told reporters in the Parliament complex, ‘We have repeatedly said that truth will prevail. There is nothing in the National Herald case, this is the truth. The government is dragging this case. No one can withdraw money from the company, no one can use it and no one can sell anything.

Priyanka Gandhi claimed, ‘This truth is known to everyone including the judiciary. Ultimately the truth will be revealed to everyone.

Pawan Kheda also targeted

Congress media department head Pawan Khera claimed that now the truth has been exposed about how Gangs of Gandhinagar uses government agencies like a private army. He told reporters, ‘You have seen that the democracy of this country is on the verge of destruction, if anyone has stopped it, it is Rahul Gandhi. That’s why the ruling party hatches a conspiracy to break the morale of Rahul Gandhiji, but this conspiracy is against you, against this country. It is against the fundamental rights of every Indian.

Kheda claimed, ‘The people of the country have entrusted the task of protecting democracy to the opposition, which the opposition and Rahul Gandhi ji are doing very strongly – this is the problem of ‘Gangs of Gandhinagar’.’

Singhvi said – National Herald had a great victory

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi wrote on Twitter, ‘Great victory in the National Herald case. The judge did not find this matter even worth taking into consideration. This is the strangest case till date, in which there was no exchange of money at all, not even an inch of change in the immovable property, yet the ED says that huge money laundering has taken place.

He said that despite all this, BJP is creating a lot of ruckus over alleged money laundering. Singhvi said that exaggerating anything, doing a lot of propaganda and having no truth has become the identity of the present government. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinet said in a statement, ‘Today truth has won. Modi government’s vendetta politics and illegal actions against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, which have been going on for the last 10 years, have been completely exposed today.

He said, ‘The court’s decision is that the ED case is outside its jurisdiction, it has no FIR without which no case can be made out. The Modi government has been taking action against Congress for a decade with the spirit of political vendetta and revenge, which has been exposed today in front of the entire country.

ED will appeal against the court’s decision

He said that this propaganda has failed. At the same time, the Enforcement Directorate said that it will file an appeal against the court order.

Special Judge Vishal Gogane said that the charge sheet filed in this case is based on the investigation conducted on the complaint of a private person and not on the FIR related to any original crime. He said that taking cognizance of this is not acceptable under the law.

On December 16, 2025, Rouse Avenue Court has refused to hear the charge sheet filed by ED in the money laundering case related to National Herald. This decision has brought great relief to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The court has said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can continue the investigation if it wants.

Names of many big personalities included in the charge sheet

ED had named Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited in its charge sheet. On ED’s investigation, Congress’s argument was that this is an act of political vendetta, whereas ED claims that this is a serious economic crime in which evidence of fraud and money laundering has been found.

ED accuses Sonia-Rahul of big scam

ED alleges that Congress leaders, as part of a conspiracy, acquired Associated Journals Ltd. To take over the assets of (AJL) worth Rs 2,000 crore, it was acquired through private company ‘Young Indian’ for only Rs 50 lakh. Sonia and Rahul hold 76% shares of this company.

In this case, the ‘income earned from crime’ was considered to be Rs 988 crore. Also, the market value of the associated properties has been said to be Rs 5,000 crore.

Action taken to seize property before chargesheet

During the investigation on April 12, 2025, action was taken to seize the attached properties. ED had pasted notices on AJL’s building at Herald House (5A, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg) in Delhi, Bandra (East) in Mumbai and Visheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow.

Apart from these immovable properties worth Rs 661 crore, shares of AJL worth Rs 90.2 crore were attached by the ED in November 2023 to safeguard the proceeds of crime and prevent the accused from disposing of it.

What is National Herald case?

The National Herald case in which the charge sheet has been filed against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi is related to the National Herald newspaper. It was started in 1938 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru along with 5 thousand freedom fighters. This newspaper was published by AJL. This newspaper was closed in 2008. Then news of controversy and scam on its acquisition started emerging.

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other accused on the complaint of Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case. This action has been taken in the money laundering case. Now there has been a counterattack from the Congress side in this entire matter.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinet said, ‘Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s pet investigation agencies are now busy in creating another false case on top of a fake case. In the National Herald case, a false case motivated by political vendetta has been going on for 12 years. In these 12 years, there was not even any summons in the ED case and on the basis of the predicate offense this entire false case was fabricated. Even charges have not been framed in this. In fact, the entire matter has been postponed by the court. No FIR was registered in the last 12 years.

He said, ‘Now suddenly after 12 years, ED has registered an FIR in the National Herald case. Interestingly, the court had ordered that the FIR be kept in a sealed cover and not be shared with the accused. But surprisingly, the copy of the FIR has reached everyone. Obviously it has been leaked by ED itself, because its details were only with ED and EOW.

Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s pet investigation agencies are now busy in creating another false case on a fake case!

In the National Herald case, a false case motivated by political vendetta has been going on for 12 years.

In these 12 years, there was not even any summons in the ED case and the predicate offence…

— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) November 30, 2025

He said, ‘A cowardly and cowardly government is again playing its dirty tricks and doing only what it knows. She is misusing the investigating agencies for cheap politics and vendetta.

Srinet said, ‘The selective leaking of the FIR, its timing and intention, everything clearly shows that this government wants to divert attention from the real issues. No matter what you do, Modi ji, you can neither scare nor make Congress and our leaders bow down. The more you do all this, the more nervous and confused you will appear.

What did Singhvi say?

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi made a post on social media saying, ‘FIR is neither a new wine, nor a new bottle nor a new glass. This is a unique case where neither any money moved nor any immovable property was transferred, yet a case of money laundering was discovered.

Congress said- this is politics of revenge

Jairam Ramesh posted on X, ‘Modi-Shah duo are continuing their politics of harassment, threat and vengeance against the top leadership of Congress. People who make threats are themselves insecure and afraid. The National Herald case is a completely fake case. Ultimately justice will prevail. Satyamev Jayate.’

EOW had filed a complaint on 3 October

The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police had filed a complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and seven others on October 3. This includes the names of the Gandhi family, Congress leaders Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, apart from establishments like Young Indian (YI) and Dotex Merchandise Limited, Dotex promoter Sunil Bhandari, Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and other unidentified people.

Next hearing on 16 December

These establishments have also been named as accused in the ED’s chargesheet filed in a Delhi court in April. The court has not yet taken cognizance of this and the next hearing is scheduled for December 16.

Political rhetoric is intensifying on the new FIR against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case. Taking aim at the leaders of the ruling party, they said that Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi-Vadra family is a corrupt family. On Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said while talking to IANS, ‘They are not above the law. If there are allegations, the agencies will conduct their investigation accordingly.

Union Minister of State SP Singh Baghel said on this matter, ‘The new FIR has been registered after a thorough study of the documents and evidence. The action was not taken out of any sense of revenge. The court is independent and impartial. When the evidence obtained is found, then an FIR is called for. After the evidence is included in the FIR, the court accepts it.

BJP spokesperson also targeted
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also took aim and said that the new FIR in this case makes it clear that a prima facie case of corruption against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi has come before the public as per the public sentiment and facts. He said that Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Gandhi-Vadra family is a corrupt family.

RP Singh said, ‘When the Enforcement Directorate (ED) files a case, its follow-up is usually done by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) as per standard procedure. This is a 2013 case on which ED was following up. Now, since the court has taken cognizance of the charge sheet, EOW has started action. A new FIR has been filed because of taking over a company worth Rs 2,000 and then running a scam in it.

Danish Azad Ansari also reacted
Danish Azad Ansari, minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, also gave his reaction and said that the Congress party is the epitome of corruption in many ways. During its rule from 2004 to 2014, the party created new dimensions of corruption across the country. Danish Ansari said, ‘People had elected him for service, but instead he remained engaged in personal gain while in power. In those ten years, many cases of corruption came to light during the Congress rule.

The sudden visit of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to Mumbai has intensified the stir in the politics of the state. Amidst the discussion of changing the Chief Minister, this visit is giving rise to many speculations. However, Shivkumar clearly said that his visit is completely personal and there was no plan for any political meeting.

‘If a meeting had to be held, it would have been in Delhi or Bengaluru’ – Shivkumar
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Shivkumar rejected reports of meeting Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. He said, ‘I have come here only for a family function. No meeting took place. If there was a meeting to be held then why would he come to Mumbai? She would have been in Bengaluru or Delhi. When asked if he talked to the leadership on the issue of the Chief Minister’s post, Shivakumar replied – ‘No… I am in no hurry for anything.’

War of words between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah
Earlier, the ongoing tussle between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over the post of Chief Minister turned into a war of words on Thursday, when both came face to face to fulfill a promise. Amidst the power struggle, Shivkumar said, ‘The power of words is world power.’ To this, Siddaramaiah quipped, ‘A promise becomes power only when it improves people’s lives.’ Siddaramaiah is insisting that he will complete the full five-year term. Whereas Shivkumar wants that he should be made the Chief Minister after the completion of half the tenure of the government (on November 20).

Siddaramaiah vs Shivakumar reached social media
The Chief Minister posted on ‘X’ and said, ‘The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not for a moment but is a responsibility for the entire five years.’ Shivkumar wrote on social media on Thursday, ‘Sticking to one’s words is the greatest strength in the world! The power of words is world power. He said, ‘Whether it is a judge… or anyone else, even if it is me, everyone should stick to their word. The power of words is the real power of the world. The cryptic post is believed to be a reminder to Congress and Siddaramaiah that in 2023, when both were vying for the chief minister’s post and the party had won the state elections, they had reportedly signed a power-sharing agreement.

Siddaramaiah reminded of his promises
Siddaramaiah told in his post how he made the world better. For this, he mentioned five guarantee schemes – ‘Shakti’, ‘Griha Lakshmi’, ‘Yuva Nidhi’, ‘Anna Bhagya’ and ‘Griha Jyoti’. These schemes are related to free electricity, cash assistance to women and free bus travel for women. Siddaramaiah said that in his first term from 2013 to 2018, 157 out of 165 promises were fulfilled, i.e. more than 95 percent of the promises were fulfilled.

He said, ‘In the current tenure, more than 243 out of 593 promises have been fulfilled. All other promises will be fulfilled with commitment, credibility and caution. The Chief Minister said, ‘The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not for a moment but for the entire five years. The Congress party, including me, is working for its people with truth, stability and courage. Our promise for Karnataka is not a slogan, but it means a lot to us.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday (26) amid ongoing speculation about leadership change in Karnataka that he will resolve the matter after discussing with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. This statement of Kharge is being considered very important at a time when the power struggle within the ruling party Congress has intensified amid speculations about change of Chief Minister in the state.

What did Kharge say on Karnataka politics?

Regarding the political situation in Karnataka, he said, “I will discuss with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi… then this issue will be resolved.” After the Congress government completed two and a half years of its five-year term on November 20, this discussion has intensified as an alleged power sharing agreement is being claimed between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in 2023.

Congress’s secret deal regarding Karnataka

Siddaramaiah had recently said that he will remain the Chief Minister for the full five-year term and will continue to present the state budget in future. DK Shivakumar had said on Tuesday that he does not want to talk publicly on the issue of changing the Chief Minister, because it is a secret deal between four-five people in the party and he trusts his conscience.

The discussion about this secret deal has increased in recent months, because Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has mentioned about the cabinet reshuffle. People close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah say that no such agreement was made. MLAs associated with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar are demanding clarification from the party leadership.

‘Change of leadership is not such an issue in Karnataka’

Siddaramaiah had recently said that the decision of the high command on this issue will be applicable to him and everyone including Shivakumar. He had asked the top leaders of the party to end this confusion. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday (25 November 2025) said that change of leadership in Karnataka is not an issue that can be discussed publicly.

Political activity is at its peak in Bihar assembly elections. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a big election rally in Begusarai on Tuesday, made a scathing attack on Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sonia Gandhi. Shah said, ‘Lalu ji wants to make his son the Chief Minister and Sonia Gandhi wants her son to become the Prime Minister. But the post of Chief Minister is not vacant in Bihar and the post of Prime Minister is also not vacant in Delhi. I want to tell both of them clearly – Now your sons will not be counted.

Tribute to the land of Dinkar, target on ‘Jungle Raj’
At the beginning of his speech, Amit Shah paid tribute to national poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and said that Dinkar ji, along with Jayaprakash Narayan, had raised his voice against the Emergency. After this, Shah targeted Lalu-Rabri Raj and said that ‘Bihar will have to be saved from Jungle Raj once again. The Lalu-Rabri regime is trying to return in a new form.

He said that Begusarai, which was once an industrial district, had become the capital of crime and kidnapping during the rule of Lalu-Rabri. Shah said, ‘For 15 years, the land of Bihar remained red with blood and violence, but the NDA government took Bihar forward on the path of development through roads, bridges, railway stations and airports.’

‘Rahul and Lalu are protectors of infiltrators’
Shah also attacked Congress and RJD over Bangladeshi infiltrators. He said, ‘Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Yadav have become protectors of infiltrators for vote bank politics. But BJP will work to identify and expel every infiltrator from Bihar. Commenting on PFI, he also said that PM Modi banned this organization by conducting raids across the country, while Lalu Yadav is now dreaming of getting them released from jail.

Corruption is identity of Congress-RJD: Shah
Amit Shah made a series of allegations of scams against Lalu and Congress. He said, ‘Under Lalu-Rabri rule, fodder scam, flood relief scam, hotel scam – there was corruption in everything. At the same time, Congress committed scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore between 2004 and 2014, but not a single corruption allegation was made during the tenure of Modi ji and Nitish Kumar.

Ram temple built because of PM Modi- Union Home Minister
Shah also mentioned Ram Temple in his speech and said, ‘Ram Temple was demolished by Babar, but Congress and its allies could not do anything for 70 years. Today a grand Ram temple is standing in Ayodhya, this became possible because of Modi ji. Shah appealed to the public to make the NDA candidates victorious. He said, ‘Bihar will not be benefited by those spreading Naxalism and corruption. Only Modi ji and Nitish Babu can do good for Bihar.