National Herald case: Congress to move SC

The Delhi High Court order dismissing pleas against summons issued to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case will be challenged in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Congress said on Monday claiming “several legal deficiencies” in the verdict.

Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi, who is the senior advocate representing Mr. Gandhi, brushed aside suggestions that it was a major setback for them in the case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

“These things are subjective...We have an open and shut case. There have been several legal deficiencies. We have unassailable arguments,” he told reporters.

“We believe there is substantive merit in the quashing petition (against summons) that we had filed.” No one has ever complained of being cheated in this matter, he said.

“But a person with no locus, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, alleges that, though he himself has not been cheated, an offence of cheating has occurred. So, we are raising the issue of locus standi in a very big way. There are many other legal grounds,” Mr. Singhvi said.

“We are clear that we intend to challenge it (high court order) on all recourse available, at appropriate forum. We intend to seek a continuation of the exemption (from personal appearance) and stay (on proceedings), which has been continued for over a year when the matter was pending in the High Court,” he said.

Contending that no cheating has taken place in the case, he said that the control of Associated Journals, which was brining National Herald has been passed to a new Company Young India set up under Section 25 of the Companies Act.

Noting that office-bearers of the Congress were in charge of the National Herald earlier and they remained the same in the new company, he wondered as to where have the cheating taken place as alleged.

The Gandhis and the other five accused — Suman Dubey, Moti Lal Vohra, Oscar Fernandez, Sam Pitroda and Young India Ltd — will have to appear in the trial court on Tuesday, before which the case will come up.

The summons were issued on a criminal complaint lodged by Dr. Swamy for alleged cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring ownership of now-defunct daily National Herald.

National Herald Case

• What - Subramanian Swamy, the then Janata Party president, >knocked the court's door raising questions over acquisition of a company that published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper to which Congress gave a loan of over Rs 90 crore.
• Who - Dr. Swamy alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had floated a Section 25 company called ‘Young Indian’, which acquired Associated Journals, founded by late Jawaharlal Nehru, that published the National Herald and Quami Awaz .
• How - Dr. Swamy >claimed it was illegal for Congress, a political party, to give loans for commercial purposes. Young Indian wrote off the loans due to Congress for a mere Rs 50 lakh and by a board resolution, the Associate Journals is sold by transfer of shares to Young Indian, which is not a newspaper or journal producing company.
• Why - The deal, Dr. Swamy alleged, was to grab prized property like Herald House in Delhi and other properties of the Associated Journals in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
• Then - Rahul Gandhi >threatened legal action against Dr. Swamy. Congress challenged Dr. Swamy to prove his allegations in a court of law. As Dr. Following Dr. Swamy's plea, a Delhi court >ordered the Gandhis to appear before it on August 7, which was >challeged in High Court.
• Next - Following the High Court’s order, the Congress leaders will have to appear before a Metropolitan Magistrate in whose court the hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.