Congress, AJL submit 2010-2011 balance sheets in Delhi court

The Congress and the Associated Journals Pvt Ltd (AJL) on Friday submitted their 2010-2011 balance sheets in a sealed cover before a court here in connection with the National Herald case.

The balance sheets were submitted by Congress and AJL before Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen in pursuance to the court's March 21 order seeking their submission by April 8.

Advocates appearing for Congress and AJL on Friday requested the court that the documents submitted in sealed covers may not be opened or brought on record without hearing the counsel.

Counsel also apprised the court that balance sheets are already on record and have already exhibited earlier and said that the prayer of summoning the documents was made either by sheer oversight or just to publicise the issue.

The court listed the matter for May 5 for further hearing.

Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen on March 21 asked the Congress and AJL to submit, by April 8, the balance sheets in compliance of the March 11 order. On March 11, the court summoned the documents saying that these documents could not be referred as "personal documents" of the accused, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi.

The order came on the plea of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy who sought summoning of balance sheet, receipts and payments accounts, income and expenditure statements for the year 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 of the Congress and the AJL. He had earlier told the court that these records were necessary to establish the method adopted by the accused for purpose of extending loans to acquire AJL, through Young India.

On June 26, 2014, the trial court issued summons to the Congress leaders on Swamy's complaint about "cheating" in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd., which published the National Herald newspaper, by Young India Ltd., "a firm in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each own a 38 percent stake".

Congress leaders Motilal Vora, and Oscar Fernandes, family friend Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda were also named as accused in the case.