The Delhi High Court was hearing pleas filed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders against a lower court order that had asked for various documents from the Union Finance Ministry and other agencies, as well as the Congress' 2010-'11 balance sheet. In January, a Delhi court had said that Swamy should be given papers he sought from ministries that, he claimed, were relevant to the case, reported ANI.
Justice PS Teji on Tuesday said, "We set aside the trial court orders of 11 January and 11 March allowing for summoning of documents. These orders were passed in a casual manner, without notice to the opposite party and without application of mind.”
Swamy had accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi of conspiring and cheating to acquire properties and assets that were owned by the National Herald newspaper, published by Jawaharlal Nehru. The BJP MLA said the two Congress leaders provided an interest-free loan of Rs 90.25 crore to Associated Journals, which published the paper, and transferred the debt to a company called Young India Limited for Rs 50 lakh. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi hold more than three-fourths equity in Young India.
The other Congress leaders accused in the case are Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda. The court had granted the Gandhis, Vora, Fernandes and Dubey bail in December last year, while Pitroda was given bail in February.
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