A Delhi court on Wednesday scheduled daily hearings from July 2 to 8 in the National Herald money laundering case involving Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue Court directed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) would continue presenting its case during this period.

"Learned ASG has advanced opening submissions. The matter shall be taken on a day-to-day basis from July 2 till July 8 for submissions on behalf of ED and the proposed accused," the judge stated.

At the beginning of the hearing, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Gandhis, requested an adjournment, citing the voluminous case record and the need for more time to review it. However, the court allowed the ED to proceed with its opening arguments.

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and Advocate Zoheb Hossain argued that the case involves proceeds of crime under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and also invoked Section 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to dishonestly receiving or retaining stolen property.

"Young Indian had no legitimate business activity except to benefit the accused. The shares, assets, and rent in question are proceeds of crime. Even advertisements and loans were excluded. Once shares are issued, they become property. Issuing AJL shares to Young Indian amounts to the offence of cheating," Hossain submitted.

The court, seeking further clarity, questioned whether the alleged transactions stemmed from a scheduled offence under PMLA, which is a prerequisite for invoking money laundering charges. "Not every company activity qualifies as money laundering. It could be a separate criminal act," Judge Gogne remarked.

He also sought clarification on whether the wrongful acts were attributable to specific individuals and whether the Congress party could be considered a victim.

"The donors of the party are the victims," Hossain replied.

The judge then posed further queries:
"Are the assets owned by the company or its shareholders? Who holds ownership of the property currently? If property originally belonging to A is usurped by B, does it become proceeds of crime even though it was clean in A’s hands?"

The National Herald case concerns the transfer of a ₹90 crore loan—originally extended by the Congress party to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), which owns the National Herald—to Young Indian for a consideration of just ₹50 lakh. Allegations suggest this transaction led to the misappropriation of assets worth over ₹2,000 crore.

The case stems from a private complaint filed by former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy, accusing Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others—including Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and Young Indian—of cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and misappropriation of property.

The ED filed its prosecution complaint against the accused on April 15 this year.

Appearing for the Gandhis were Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and RS Cheema, along with Advocate Tarannum Cheema. Senior Advocate Madhav Khurana and Advocate Nakul Gandhi represented Young Indian, while Senior Advocate Sushil Bajaj and Advocate Akshay appeared for Suman Dubey.