HC dismisses Sonia, Rahul’s petitions in Herald case

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the pleas of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi challenging reopening of their tax assessments for 2011-12.

The income tax cases against the Congress leaders have arisen from the probe into a criminal complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy before a trial court in connection with the National Herald case. In the complaint, Sonia, Rahul and others have been accused of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just ~5 million, through which the Young India (YI) had obtained the right to recover ~902.5 million that the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) owed to the Congress party.

A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla said, “The writ petitions have failed.” The bench also dismissed the petition of Congress leader Oscar Fernandes who too had challenged reopening of his tax assessment for the same year (2011-12). The high court had on August 16 reserved its order on the pleas of the three leaders after the Income Tax Department had contended that Rahul Gandhi's tax assessment for 2011-12 was reopened as material facts were concealed. The bench had orally asked the tax department not to take any coercive step against Sonia, Rahul and Fernandes till pronouncement of its verdict. Senior advocate P Chidambaram, appearing for Sonia Gandhi, had said he had faith in the oral statement made by the Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.