Special CBI Court Discharges Hooda, AJL In Panchkula Land Allotment Case

Last Updated:April 04, 2026, 17:44 IST

CBI court discharges ex Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and AJL in Panchkula plot money laundering case, ED complaint closed, case against Moti Lal Vora abated after death

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper were discharged by a special CBI court on Friday, April 3, 2026 in a money laundering case linked to illegal allotment of a plot in Panchkula, after closing the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) case against them.

The order came nearly a month after the Punjab and Haryana high court discharged Hooda on February 25 in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case, holding that the evidence on record did not even establish a prima facie case of criminality. Hooda appeared in person during the proceedings. Proceedings against the third accused, Moti Lal Vora, were abated by the special court after his death.

ED’s complaint was closed by the special Judge under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Rajeev Goyal. The case relates to the allotment of an institutional plot in Panchkula’s Sector 6 area, by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to AJL in 1982. AJL is owned by Young Indian Pvt Ltd, where Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders.

News india Special CBI Court Discharges Hooda, AJL In Panchkula Land Allotment Case

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