In a major blow to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, the Delhi high court on Monday dismissed their pleas, challenging summons issued to them in the National Herald case, in which they have to appear before the trial court on Tuesday. “Petitions are dismissed,” Justice Sunil Gaur said in his judgment, while also declining their pleas for exemption from personal appearance in the lower court.
The Congress expressed surprise at the HC order, claiming that there were “several legal deficiencies” in the verdict. Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi, who is also the senior advocate representing the Gandhis, said: “These things are subjective. We have an open-and-shut-case. There have been several legal deficiencies. We have unassailable arguments. 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.
“A person with no locus standi, 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,” added Singhvi.
“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 added.
The Gandhis and the other five accused – Suman Dubey, Moti Lal Vohra, Oscar Fernandez, Sam Pitroda and Young India Ltd – will have to appear before the trial court on Tuesday, before which the case will come up.
It also refused to extend the August 6, 2014, interim order by which the summons were stayed. “No,” Justice Gaur said in response to oral pleas by senior advocate Harin Raval, appearing for the accused. The summons were issued on a criminal complaint lodged by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy for alleged cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring ownership of the now-defunct daily National Herald.
The BJP meanwhile welcomed HC’s order saying the Gandhis cannot “hide” from law which was “taking its own course.” Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, “This is what happens when you buy such a huge property for a pittance. Law is taking its own course. Law is equal to the common man and Sonia Gandhi. They cannot hide from it.”