Indian court grants bail to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in corruption case

In a massive relief for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul in the high-profile National Herald case, the Patiala House court in New Delhi on Saturday granted them unconditional bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each.

Outside the court and across several parts of the country, tens of thousands of Congress party workers took to the streets Saturday to show their support and to protest the allegations against their leaders.

Three other Congress leaders who have been implicated in the case along with the Gandhis were granted bail as well.

Swamy suggested that the passports of the accused should be impounded but the court ignored his request.

Known for his wit and one-upmanship, Swamy tried to turn the tide against the Gandhis once again, who he claimed would be behind bars after the next hearing once he leads the evidence before the court. “I have no doubt that the truth will come out”, Sonia Gandhi told reporters.

Mr Swamy had filed the case in 2012 accusing the Gandhis and others – Moti Lal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda – of cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring the ownership of the now-defunct English daily National Herald. “Make no mistake about it”, said Kamal Nath, a senior leader as he arrived in court along with other senior members of the party.

The Patiala House Court premises in Central Delhi was jampacked with security personnel and media people with a battery of Congress leaders, including Sonia’s daughter Priyanka Vadra, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajeev Shukla marking their presence ahead of the two top Congress leaders.

“We will continue the fight and not bow down”, they said. “We are well aware of the campaign of attacks and criticism that our political rivals follow”, Sonia Gandhi said at a press conference following the hearing.

“The way the Modi government is targeting leaders of opposition we will fight inside and outside the parliament”, he added. They were ordered to do so by the Delhi high court last week.

Senior lawyers such as Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for the Gandhis during their 15-minute appearance in court. Naqvi said Congress leaders were “fighting for corruption in a shameful manner” by doing “drama” on road and asked the main Opposition party to refrain from politicising a court matter.

The National Herald was set up in 1938 by India’s first prime minister and Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru.

“If somebody were to try and divert public purposes to private means, I don think anyone of you call it political vendetta”, the Union Power Minister said.