Herald case: Court seeks balance sheet of Congress

A city court on Monday directed the Congress to submit its balance sheet for the year 2010- 2011 in compliance with its order in the National Herald case, in which Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and five others are accused.

The court’s direction came after the counsel appearing for Indian National Congress (INC) informed it that the party needed time to follow the March 11 order by which the documents were sought.

Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen, after hearing the submissions, posted the next hearing to April 8.

The counsel, Badar Mahmood, said the court summons were received only on March 19 and added that there was lack of clarity about the year of which the documents pertain to. “Summons were not clear as to whether it was for 2010, 2011 or for both,” the counsel said.

A Congress office peon, who appeared in the court, also said that no office-bearer of the party office was present on Saturday to give the documents.

In its March 11 order, the court had also summoned the balance sheet of 2010-2011 of Associated Journals Pvt Ltd (AJL), observing that these documents of INC and AJL could not be referred as “personal documents” of the accused.