National Herald: HC seeks Sonia, Rahul’s reply on Swamy’s plea to lead evidence

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Delhi High Court sought the response of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi on the plea by BJP MP, Subramanian Swamy's plea to lead evidence in the National Herald case.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had moved the Delhi High Court against a trial court order declining, for now, his plea to lead evidence to prosecute Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and others in the National Herald case.

The trial court on February 11 had said that Swamy''s application under section 244 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to lead evidence would be considered after his examination in the case was over.

Aggrieved by the trial court''s order, the BJP leader had challenged it in the high court.

In his application under section 244 of CrPC in the trial court, Swamy has sought summoning of certain witnesses, including the secretary general (registry officer) of the Supreme Court, a deputy land and development officer, and a deputy commissioner of Income Tax, and also directions to them to prove certain documents which are part of the case.

The BJP leader, in a private criminal complaint in the trial court, accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd, owner of National Herald, owed to the Congress.

All the seven accused - the Gandhis, AICC treasurer Motilal Vora, AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and YI - have denied the allegations.

Proceedings against Vora abated subsequent to his death.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Vora, Fernandes, Dubey and Pitroda were summoned by the trial court in 2014 for the alleged offences of misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust and cheating, read with criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code.