HC sets aside trial court Herald order
Sets aside trial court order seeking party balance sheets
The Delhi high court Tuesday set aside the trial court order summoning documents and balance sheet of the Congress for 2010- 11 in connection with the National Herald case, saying it had been “passed in a casual manner”.
In a huge relief to the Congress, the Delhi high court on Tuesday set aside a trial court’s orders in the National Herald case, seeking documents from the ministries of finance and corporate affairs and other agencies besides the balance sheet of the party for 2010- 2011.
Setting aside the trial court’s January 11 and March 11 orders, Justice P. S. Teji said the orders had been “passed in a casual manner,” “without application of mind” and were “non- speaking.” The high court decision has made the trial court’s orders “ineffective, redundant and not sustainable in the eye of law and liable to be set aside.”
Justice Teji said, “The applications ( for summoning of documents) were moved in a casual manner and the order passed on the same was also passed in a casual manner without due application of mind. The facts and circumstances mentioned above, nonissuance of notice to opposite side and impugned orders being non- speaking and without due application of mind as per the law laid down by the apex court, culminates into the impugned orders as ineffective, redundant and not sustainable in eye of law and liable to be set aside.”
The high court said, “in view of the above discussion and law laid down, as referred above, this court is of the considered opinion that while passing the order under Section 91 of CrPC for summoning the documents, if the other party has already joined the proceedings, it is entitled to be heard. Consequently, the orders dated January 11, 2016 and March 11, 2016, are hereby set aside along with proceedings consequent thereto.”
The high court order came on the pleas of Congress leaders Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and a company, Young Indian Pvt Ltd ( YI) who are accused in the case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. The other two accused in the National Herald case are Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, but they had not moved the high court against the summoning of the documents and balance sheet.
The high court, in its verdict, also said “undisputedly the complainant ( Swamy) always has the right to invoke provisions of Section 91 of Cr PC and the court is always empowered to pass an order in the facts and circumstances of the case, keeping in view the necessity and desirability of document in situations as discussed above and by granting an opportunity of hearing to the other party.”