ED National Herald Case: Singhvi Calls It 'Unprecedented'

New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) - During a court session, the esteemed Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, characterized the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) National Herald case as "truly a strange" and unprecedented legal proceeding. Singhvi launched his rebuttal after the conclusion of arguments by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju for the ED on the previous day regarding the chargesheet's cognizance status. Singhvi argued, "This is truly a strange case. More than strange. Unprecedented. This is an alleged case of money laundering without tangible property or the typical utilization of such property." The Enforcement Directorate has leveled accusations against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, along with the late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes. Other accused include Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private entity named Young Indian. The allegations concern a conspiracy and money laundering scheme involving the questionable acquisition of properties worth over Rs 2,000 crore, owned by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper. The ED asserts that the Gandhis secured a 76% majority share in Young Indian, which orchestrated the unlawful takeover of AJL's assets in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan. Singhvi countered by stating that the transaction aimed to relieve AJL of its financial liabilities. The esteemed lawyer elaborated, "Every company is entitled under law and does, every day, make their companies get free by a variety of instruments. So you take away the debt and assign it to another entity. So this company becomes debt free." Furthermore, he emphasized that Young Indian operates as a not-for-profit organization, incapable of distributing dividends, perks, salaries, or bonuses. Singhvi criticized the ED for its inaction on the matter for several years before deciding to pursue the case based on a private complaint. He colorfully expressed, "They are, obviously people associated with the Congress. To have the National Herald in a body not associated with the Congress would be worse than having Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark." Singhvi proceeded to enumerate the reasons why he believed the current court lacked appropriate jurisdiction over the matter. Previously, on July 3, S V Raju presented arguments highlighting that the Gandhis emerged as "beneficial owners" of Young Indian, attaining total control following the demise of other shareholders. The ED's chargesheet filed against the Gandhis and other parties invokes Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In addition to the Gandhis, the chargesheet cites Dudey, Pitroda, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited.

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