FIR against Gandhis: Decoding the National Herald case

This explainer was republished on December 1 after a new FIR by the Delhi Police.

The Delhi Police has registered a new FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, acting on an Enforcement Directorate money-laundering probe connected to the National Herald newspaper.

This comes six months after the ED filed a chargesheet naming the two leaders and five others. According to an October 3 complaint, government-owned properties originally allotted to Associated Journals Limited at concessional rates for public-interest activities were allegedly diverted for personal gain.

The fresh FIR cites IPC provisions on cheating, criminal conspiracy, dishonest misappropriation of property, and criminal breach of trust. Those named include Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, its promoter Sunil Bhandari, Associated Journals Limited, and other unidentified individuals.

The Congress denounced the FIR, calling it an act of “harassment” driven by politics. Jairam Ramesh wrote on X that the “Modi-Shah duo” was pursuing intimidation and vendetta against the party’s top leadership.

At the core of the controversy is the legacy newspaper National Herald and questions over how the Gandhis are linked to its finances.

What is the ED probing? And is this investigation mere “political vendetta” as the Congress claims?

Watch.