New Delhi, Feb 27 – The Delhi High Court on Thursday extended the stay on trial court proceedings in the National Herald case involving Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others. Justice Vikas Mahajan scheduled the next hearing for July 28 while considering a plea by former BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.
The court has directed all parties to submit their written arguments regarding Swamy's plea, which seeks permission to present additional evidence before the trial court. Swamy and senior counsel R S Cheema, who represents the Gandhis, asked for further time to file their submissions.
During the hearing, Swamy argued that the case investigation should not be kept. At the same time, Cheema, assisted by advocate Tarannum Cheema, countered that the case stemmed from a private complaint and did not involve an official probe.
Swamy has accused the Gandhis and other co-accused of conspiring to misappropriate funds. He alleges that Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover ₹90.25 crore owed to Congress by Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), the owner of National Herald, by paying just ₹50 lakh. The accused, including AICC treasurer Motilal Vora (now deceased), AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes (also deceased), Suman Dubey, and Sam Pitroda, have denied these allegations.
The legal battle traces back to Swamy’s petition against a trial court's decision on February 11, 2021, which rejected his request to present additional evidence to support his claims against the accused. He has urged the court to summon key witnesses, including a Supreme Court registry officer, a deputy land and development officer, and a deputy commissioner of Income Tax, to validate crucial documents.
The Delhi High Court had previously, on February 22, 2021, issued notices to the accused and stayed the proceedings until further orders. While the case against Vora was closed following his demise, the remaining accused were summoned in 2014 under charges of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of property, breach of trust, and cheating under the Indian Penal Code.
The case will now come up for hearing on July 28, with further developments expected after the submission of written arguments by all parties.
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