National Herald: Gandhis get relief, Delhi court grants bail

Both the leaders appeared before the court where the hearing for the National Herald case filed against them was held.

After the Gandhis were granted bail, Congress leader Kapil Sibal told reporters: "Bail to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been granted without condition."

He said the next hearing into the case will be held on Feb 20.

Sibal said technocrat Sam Pitroda was granted exemption due to his medical condition while other three accused, including Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes and Suman Dubey, were also granted bail.

The mother-son duo were accompanied to the court by Priyanka Vadra, daughter of Sonia.

A large number of  Congress supporters also thronged near the court premises, guarded by a large number security personnel.

The Gandhis were earlier  summoned by the trial court on a private criminal complaint of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy of cheating, criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of property and breach of trust. Swamy had filed the complaint in 2012.

Swamy alleged that properties worth Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the now-defunct newspaper were usurped by the Gandhis through fraudulent papers. He accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by first loaning the money to AJL and then assigning the debt to YIL for Rs 50 lakh.

Swamy alleged that Congress has written off the remaining Rs 89.5 crore.

National Herald newspaper was started by former prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1938 during the freedom struggle. It originally served as a mouthpiece of the Congress. Over the decades circulation and finances dropped, before it finally closed in 2008 with a debt of Rs 90 crore.

In 2014, the trial court asked Sonia and Rahul to appear in the case. On Dec 7, 2015, the high court dismissed their appeal and asked questions about the legality of the unsecured loan. They were also directed to appear before the trial court.