National Herald Case: Sonia and Rahul Gandhi’s troubles increase again, Delhi High Court sends notice

News India Live, Digital Desk: It is said in politics that the distance between “relief” and “disaster” is very less. Something similar happened today with top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Just a few days ago, he got a big relief from the trial court (lower court) when the court refused to take cognizance of the ED charge sheet. There was a wave of happiness in the camp of Gandhi family and Congress that the trouble was averted. But, on Monday (22 December 2025), the story changed again. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not give up and went straight to the Delhi High Court to challenge the lower court’s decision. And now, the High Court has issued notice to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other accused and sought their answers. What happened in the court room today? Today this matter came before the bench of Justice Ravindra Dudeja in Delhi High Court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presented very powerful arguments on behalf of ED. He told the court that if the trial court’s decision (in which it had virtually dismissed the PMLA case) was accepted, then the Money Laundering Act would lose all meaning. Mehta said the trial court had committed a huge technical error by holding that “since there is no police FIR or predicate offence, the ED cannot investigate”. He argued that money laundering is a standalone crime. The High Court seriously listened to the words of ED and Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and A.J.L. Notices were served to people associated with (Associated Journals Ltd). Congress’s hopes dashed? Recall that the trial court had recently said that the National Herald case is based on a ‘personal complaint’ (which was made by Subramanian Swamy), and not on any police FIR. Therefore, ED’s money laundering complaint cannot be taken cognizance of. Congress considered this decision a major victory and said it was a defeat for “political vendetta”. But today the notice of the High Court has made it clear that the legal battle will continue for a long time and is not going to end so easily. What will happen next? However, it is a matter of relief that the High Court has fixed the date of March 12, 2026 for the next hearing of the case. This means the Gandhi family has 2-3 months to prepare their reply. But, the aggressiveness with which ED is fighting this case makes it clear that even in the year 2026, this case will continue to bring political turmoil.