Herald case: HC sets aside trial court order, Swamy won’t get documents

In a major relief to the Congress, Delhi High Court on Tuesday set aside lower court’s order for access to top government documents in case against Gandhis.

The verdict was announced on pleas of Congress leaders against a trial court order summoning documents from the Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs and other agencies and balance sheet of the party for 2010-2011 in the National Herald case.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, party leaders Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) are accused in the case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

Swamy has accused them of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by just paying Rs 50 lakh by which YI obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which Associated Journals Pvt Ltd (AJL) owed to the Congress party. All the accused have denied the allegations levelled against them by Swamy.

Congress leaders, Vora, Fernandes, Dubey and Sam Pitroda had argued through their lawyers that there were "no reasons or objects" in the application filed by Swamy in which he had sought summoning of these documents.

Their lawyers had contended that there was "no application of mind" by the trial judge while allowing the plea and the high court was entitled to reverse the order.

They had also argued that the orders passed by the trial court were "non-speaking" and hence, cannot be sustained.

"Courts can summon the documents if they are relevant. These documents can be misutilised for other purposes. Do not permit this litigation to be a launch-pad for other things," they had said while urging the court to set aside the orders passed by the trial court.

Swamy had earlier argued that the high court should dismiss these pleas seeking stay on two decisions of the trial court, including one summoning the 2010-11 balance sheet of the Indian National Congress (INC) in connection with the case.