National Herald case: Swamy accuses Rahul, Sonia of cheating and criminal conspiracy

Swamy made the allegations while recording his statement before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, as the main complainant in the case.

The BJP leader, in a private criminal complaint, has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), which runs National Herald newspaper, owed to the Congress party.

In his statement recorded today, Swamy said "the transfer of the properties of AJL to the control of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (through YI, in which Swamy claimed that Gandhis owned 76 per cent shares) by a series of steps amounted to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation of properties and cheating."

The allegations were opposed by the advocates appearing for the Gandhis and the other accused, terming Swamy's statement as "hearsay" and "speculative".

Besides the Gandhis, the complaint has also named Motilal Vora (the All India Congress Committee treasurer), Oscar Fernandes (then AICC general secretary), senior Congress leader Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and YI as accused.

All the accused have denied the allegations levelled against them in the case.

The court had summoned the accused persons and YI on June 26, 2014 for alleged offences of misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust and cheating, read with criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code.

On December 19, 2015, it had granted bail to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Vora, Fernandes and Dubey, who had appeared before it pursuant to summonses. Pitroda was also granted bail on February 20, 2016 when he had appeared in the court.