Gandhis Face Fresh Legal Battle: ED Appeals High Court Decision

The Delhi High Court has scheduled a March 9 hearing to address the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) challenge against a trial court's decision regarding Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, key figures in the National Herald money laundering case. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has permitted the Gandhis and others to file responses after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta expressed objections to delayed submissions.

The ED accuses the Gandhis, alongside other entities like Young Indian, of conspiring to acquire properties worth Rs 2,000 crore from Associated Journals Limited under suspicious circumstances. The trial court previously dismissed the chargesheet due to a procedural technicality, marking it as 'impermissible in law,' a stance the ED is adamantly contesting.

The central legal dispute pivots on whether an FIR foundation is necessary for maintaining legal charges of money laundering. The ED argues that private complaints should hold as much legal weight as FIRs for initiating cognisance. The forthcoming High Court decision could set a significant legal precedent in such cases.