Will file witness list in National Herald case: Swamy to Delhi court

New Delhi: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today told a Delhi court that he would submit the “complete list” of witnesses in National Herald case against Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and five others after the high court passes order on pleas filed by some of the accused.

The Delhi High Court had on April 18 reserved its order on application filed by some of the accused against the trial court’s orders summoning documents from Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs, other agencies and the balance sheet of the party for the year 2010-2011 in the case.

Swamy had accused Sonia, Rahul and others of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by just paying Rs 50 lakh by which Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which Associated Journals Pvt (AJL) owed to Congress party.

Sonia, Rahul, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, who were summoned as accused along with YI in the case on June 26, 2014, have denied all the allegations levelled against them.

During the hearing today, Swamy told the court that he was awaiting the high court order.

”I will submit my complete list of witnesses once I know what the high court order will be. Then everything will be in a continuity,” he told Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen.

Senior advocate R S Cheema, who appeared for one of the accused, told the court that high court would pass its order on the applications challenging the January 11 and March 11 order passed by the trial court.

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The trial court, on January 11, had allowed Swamy’s plea seeking summoning of documents from the Ministries of Finance, Urban Development and Corporate Affairs, Income Tax Department and other agencies in the case.

Later, on March 11, the court had allowed Swamy’s another plea and summoned certain documents pertaining to financial details of Indian National Congress for the year 2010-2011.
Congress party had submitted its balance sheet for the

year 2010-2011 in a sealed cover before the court on April 8.

Besides the Congress, Associated Journals Pvt (AJL) had also submitted in a sealed cover its balance sheet for the same assessment year before the court.

Both Congress and AJL had requested the court that the documents may not be opened or brought on record without hearing the defense counsel.

They had also said the summoned documents were already on court’s record.

The court had on December 19, 2015, granted bail to Sonia, Rahul, Vora, Fernandes and Dubey, who had appeared before it pursuant to the summons issued earlier. Pitroda was granted bail on February 20 this year when he had appeared before the court.

Sonia, Rahul, Vora (AICC Treasurer), Fernandes (AICC General Secretary), Dubey and Pitroda were summoned for the alleged offences under section 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) read with section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.