Fresh twist in National Herald case: Shanti Bhushan to challenge ‘illegal’ transfer of shares

New Delhi, Dec 11: In what could be understood as fresh trouble for the Congress in the National Herald case, senior supreme court lawyer and former union law minister Shanti Bhushan has tightened his belt to challenge the transfer of shares from Associated Journals Ltd, and termed the deal as 'wholly illegal'.

As per a TOI report, Bhushan, founding members of AAP, has initiated the process to challenge the "wholly illegal" transfer of shares of AJL to Sonia-Rahul Gandhi controlled private firm Young Indian Limited (YIL) which has Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul as directors.

"My father had taken the shares in 1938 in his name. I have initiated the process for substitution of his legal heirs as owners of those shares," Bhushan told TOI.

When asked if he would challenge the transfer of AJL shares to YIL, Bhushan added, "Very surely I will challenge it in court. This transfer of shares is wholly illegal."

With Shanti Bhushan's entry in the National Herald imbroglio, matters will further get worse for the Congress, which is already pushed on the backfoot by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, the complainant in the acquisition of National Herald.

Earlier, accusing the BJP of running a political vendetta against it, the Congress said it did not do anything illegal in the National Herald newspaper case and will fight it out in the court of law.

"National Herald newspaper has been a part of Congress' legacy ever since it came into being. The party helped it by giving it loans as and when required, and there was nothing wrong in it," senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.

Senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi are appearing for the grand-old-party of India in this case and argued that giving loan to a company cannot be a criminal activity.

"Filing such cases show that government's fear that it cannot defeat the Congress, and people like Subramanian Swamy have been kept in the BJP for such acts," Sibal said.

Congress has termed this case as BJP's 'political vendetta' and its members have stalled the Parliament ever since a Delhi Court summoned Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, in connection with the case.

OneIndia News