National Herald Case: Newspaper, Nehru And A Swamy Complaint That Stirred The Hornet’s Nest

National Herald Case: This is the first time a chargesheet has been filed against the two top Congress leaders. The chargesheet was filed in a special court on April 9, 2025, and the matter will be next heard on April 25.It all started in 2012, when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a private complaint that set the stage for the current legal battle in the National Herald case. He had alleged that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and other top Congress leaders had fraudulently acquired Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald. The properties that are under scanner include the iconic Herald House in Delhi, properties in upscale Bandra in Mumbai and in Lucknow’s Bisheshwar Nath Road.The ED initiated money-laundering investigation in the case based on the order of the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi after taking cognisance of the private complaint of Swamy.

The ED said, “The Court held that seven accused persons including M/s Young India, prima facie committed offences of criminal breach of trust u/s 406 of IPC, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property u/s 420 of IPC, dishonest misappropriation of property u/s 403 and criminal conspiracy u/s 120B of IPC.”The case by the probe agency focuses on a plot of land in Haryana’s Panchkula district, originally allotted to AJL. In 2005, this land was re-allotted to AJL by the then Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. According to the ED, AJL’s shares were later transferred to a private firm, Young Indian, for “a mere Rs 50 lakh”, though the value of AJL’s assets, including the Panchkula plot, was over Rs 2,000 crore. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold a 38% stake in Young Indian, a not-for-profit Section 25 company. The remaining 24% was held by Congress veterans Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, who have passed away now.

National Herald Case: The ED alleges that the transfer of shares and the undervaluation of property was a method to acquire assets worth crores for a minimal sum. As part of the probe, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were questioned in 2022. In 1937, AJL was established by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Over the decades, several loyalists of the Nehru-Gandhi family, including Deepender Singh Hooda, Sam Pitroda, and others, have been associated with AJL. The plot was originally allotted in 1982 but was resumed by HUDA in 1996 after AJL failed to build on it within the stipulated period. Despite exhausting legal options, AJL couldn’t reclaim the land. However, in 2005, CM Hooda ordered the re-allotment based on a representation from Vora, citing AJL’s financial difficulties and the organisation’s legacy.

National Herald Case: Despite opposition from the Haryana Legal Department and HUDA officials, the decision was taken. They had advised that a new allotment could only be made at current market rates, not old rates. Nonetheless, Hooda allegedly used his discretion to override this advice and re-allotted the land at 1982 rates plus interest – around Rs 69.39 lakh – when the market value was estimated at Rs 64.93 crore, as per the ED.In 2014, shortly before the state elections, an Occupation Certificate was issued for a newly constructed four-storey building on the plot. That same year, the BJP government under Manohar Lal Khattar came to power in Haryana and launched a probe into the re-allotment.

The Haryana Vigilance Bureau first investigated the matter and filed a case against Hooda in 2016. This led to the ED registering a money laundering case, followed by the CBI stepping in. In 2018, the CBI filed a chargesheet naming Hooda, Vora, and AJL for corruption and criminal conspiracy. The FIR did not mention Hooda by name; only as chairman of HUDA, a position he held at the time of re-allotment.Although Hooda was granted bail, the CBI court rejected his plea for discharge and framed charges. He then moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which stayed the trial court proceedings in July 2021.

National Herald Case: Congress’ Top Brass Behind Gandhis

Meanwhile, the Congress top leadership has rallied behind the Gandhis. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge charged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre with trying to “intimidate” his party by framing top leaders, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, in the National Herald case.Addressing the party’s ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ rally at Dalsagar Stadium in Buxar on Sunday (April 20), Kharge asserted, “We are not afraid of anyone, and nor shall we bow down before anyone.

National Herald Case: Officials of central probe agencies conducted searches in the case but did not find anything. Our leaders are not scared. Our leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have sacrificed their lives for the country.”Kharge said that Jawaharlal Nehru had started the ‘National Herald’ and ‘Qaumi Awaz’ newspapers during British rule.”The purpose of launching these newspapers was to create awareness among the masses during the freedom struggle to consolidate people’s voice against British rule. On the other hand, RSS leaders were agents of the British and were working for them. But now, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are being targeted because they are the backbone of the party. Central agencies like CBI, ED and I-T are being used to target opposition leaders,” the Congress president alleged.

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