National Herald case: Court turns down ED's plea to issue notices to Sonia, Rahul

In a setback to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) , a Delhi court on Friday (April 25) refused to issue notices to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald money-laundering case.

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'Don't prolong the issue'

Special judge Vishal Gogne was acting on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which claimed that cognisance of the complaint (ED's equivalent to a charge sheet) cannot be taken without hearing the accused according to the new provisions of law.

The ED urged the court not to prolong the order and issue notices to Sonia and Rahul. The judge, however, said that the court cannot pass an order to issue notices before it was satisfied about its requirement.

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'Must ensure there is no deficiency'

"Before the court passes any order, it has to see if there is any deficiency," the judge added.

"There are certain documents missing in the charge sheet as highlighted by the Ahlmad. ED is directed to file those documents. After that the court will decide the issue of notice," the court said.

The ED, however, said that they were very transparent and not hiding anything.

"We are giving a chance to them to come and give their point before cognisance is taken," the ED told the court.

The next hearing of the case will be on May 2.

(With agency inputs)