Congress leaders are moving the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court’s decision to dismiss the appeals of party president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and others seeking quashing of summons issued to them by a trial court in The National Herald case.
The summons was issued on a complaint by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy alleging cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of the now-defunct National Herald by Young Indian Limited (YIL).
The Congress leaders own a stake as directors in the YIL, registered as a charitable company.
“Yes, the appeal is being filed in the Supreme Court. It is in the process. We have challenged the High Court decision,” senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Wednesday.
The complaint alleged corruption in the assigning of a Rs. 90.25-crore loan owed to the Congress by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher of The National Herald , to the YIL for Rs. 50 lakh.
The High Court had in December 2015 said the gravity of the allegations had a “fraudulent flavour” involving a national political party. Therefore, serious imputations smacking of criminality levelled against the petitioners needed to be properly looked into. Justice Sunil Gaur of the High Court made scathing remarks on the “questionable conduct” in the acquisition of the publication and said criminal proceedings could not be thwarted.
