Swamy trying to sway National Herald hearings with tweets: Vora tells court

Senior Congress leader Motilal Vora Saturday told a Delhi court that BJP leader Subramanian Swamy was trying to influence the proceedings in the National Herald case by commenting on social media.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal was told by senior advocate R S Cheema, appearing for Vora, that Swamy was indulging in "character assassination" of the accused persons by tweeting.

"The complainant (Swamy) is also insulting the lawyers appearing for the accused persons and trying to influence the ongoing probe by commenting on the merits of the case," the counsel said.

Vora, also represented by advocate Tarannum Cheema, requested the court to pass an injunction order restraining Swamy from tweeting about the case.
 

The court has put up the matter for further hearing on October 20 when Swamy will respond to the application.

The BJP leader, in a private criminal complaint, has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just Rs 5 million, through which Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 902.5 million that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.

He has filed the case against Vora, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, and others.

Swamy had earlier accused Vora of wasting the court's time by filing frivolous applications in the case.

In an application, Vora said he has time and again noticed that the complainant (Swamy) has been putting up various posts on social media regarding the daily proceedings of the instant case for the purpose of causing defamation of the accused and vilification of the court process.
 

Vora has also alleged that Swamy had been indulging in "loud and persistent publicity", amounting to an interference with the administration of justice.

The application said, Before and after every date of hearing he (Swamy) unleashes hostile publicity through tweets, posts on social media or statements to the media.

All the seven accused the Gandhis, Motilal Vora (AICC treasurer), Oscar Fernandes (AICC general secretary), Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and YI have denied the allegations levelled against them in the case.

The court had summoned the accused persons, besides YI, on June 26, 2014.

On December 19, 2015, it had granted bail to Sonia Gandhi, 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.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Vora, Fernandes, Dubey and Pitroda had been summoned for the alleged offences of misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust and cheating, read with criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code.