Nationa Herald case: Robert Vadra confident truth will prevail

The Delhi High Court last week dismissed the plea of the Gandhi’s to quash the summons issued to them by a trial court. He said that since his party leadership has faith and respect the court processes, workers also have been advised not to gather outside the court here.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed the case in a local court in 2012.

Congress MLA V.S. Rathore however represented Sam Pitroda in the court today.

As per reports, both of them will appear in the trial court at 3 pm and might likely seek bail in the case. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will stand surety for Sonia Gandhi and senior leader Ahmed Patel for Rahul Gandhi, sources said.

There was much speculation about whether the Gandhis and the other accused in the case would apply for bail today.

The case has also disrupted the current session of parliament, with Congress MPs accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of a “political vendetta”.

Swamy had alleged that by acquiring a public-limited company through a private company, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had committed a fraud.

As things stand, a high-level meeting, with all Congress Working Committee members present, will be held to express solidarity with the accused but the exercise would remain confined to the party headquarters.

Party General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed said the Congress would politically fight the Narendra Modi government on the issue as it was a “vendetta”.

The National Herald was set up in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru, who went on to become India’s first Prime Minister.

The Congress had allegedly loaned Rs 90.25 crore to Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL), publisher of National Herald, and on December 28, 2010 it had assigned this debt to Young Indian Ltd (YIL), the charitable company, for Rs 50 lakh, which, according to Swamy, amounted to breach of trust and cheating.

Congress, obtained the National Herald, which ceased publication in 2008 in 2010.

The BJP has hit back, with union minister Ravi SHankar Prasad saying, “Rahul Gandhi (is an) expert in lying”.