Herald case: Sonia Gandhi, Rahul unlikely to seek bail

The party remained tight-lipped on the course to be adopted by the two leaders when they appear before the court on Saturday afternoon.

As per procedure, once an accused has been summoned, he or she has to appear before it and seek bail which the court may grant. Otherwise, they can be taken into judicial custody. If the accused does not apply for bail, the court can take the accused in the judicial custody.

Party’s chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said: “We respect judicial process and we will submit ourselves to the majesty of the court process. The Congress president and the Vice-President have complete faith in the judicial process. They will be proceeding as per the advice by the lawyers.”

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who had represented the Gandhis in the court, steered clear of questions whether the Gandhis would apply for bail. “We cannot share our strategy. I have not spoken to anyone on the issue. I cannot speak on it.”

Several senior party leaders, including CWC members and party general secretaries and party MPs, would accompany the Gandhis to the court as a mark of solidarity.

The party is also preparing to stage a show of strength in the Capital on that day, sources added. It has summoned its Chief Ministers and other state leaders for a meeting at the party headquarters, 24 Akbar Road, in New Delhi and all its lawmakers from both Houses of Parliament have also been asked to be present. They are likely to stage a march.

The case, filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, accuses the Gandhis and four others of forming a company with the intention of acquiring property belonging to the now defunct newspaper National Herald that was founded by Jawaharlal Nehru. The seventh entity summoned in the case is Young Indian, the company formed by them, in which the Gandhis own 76 per cent shares.

The proposed move to not seek bail is being seen as the Gandhis taking a cue from former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was arrested in 1977 after she lost the general election. The arrest is believed to have resurrected her political fortunes. The Congress, under her, swept the 1980 Lok Sabha elections.