National Herald case: Sonia, Rahul to appear in court on Dec. 19

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi have been asked to appear in court on December 19th in the National Herald case, which is the earliest possible date given by the court.

"Arguments on the mater were reserved on December 4th. We were told over the phone yesterday about the pronouncement of judgement and saw the copy online. We made it clear to the honourable magistrate today that each accused is extremely keen, ready and willing to appear at the earliest. We were seeking exemption only for today," Congress spokesperson and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the reporters here.

Emphasising that every accused in the case has the highest regard for the court, he added that all, barring one who is in the U.S., will be present on December 19th at 3 p.m.

Reiterating that that was a case of 'political vendetta' at its worst, Singhvi accused senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dr Subramanian Swamy and the ruling party of using proxy litigation to attack senior Congress leaders out of 'political malice'.

"You have seen a series since 18 months, be it Virbhadra Singh who was rudely intruded upon during the wedding of his child or a baseless allegation roping in Chidambaram and his family. This case just happens to be the next in the pattern," Singhvi said.

Asserting that the Congress will fight the case with all its might, he added that the grand old party has an unassailable case and has no doubts legally.

Earlier today, Sonia Gandhi told reporters here "I leave it on you to judge" when asked if it was a case of political vendetta.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi left for Chennai to take stock of the flood relief operations.