National Herald frauds
Arrogant stealing of prime real estate –
another instance of hubris of the Gandhi family
Sree Iyer
National Herald frauds
Copyright © 2021 by Sree Iyer.
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ISBN: 978-1-7365332-0-8
First Edition: January 2021
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years. Some portions contain content from IANS. Dates are given in DD.MM.YYYY format. The
content has been formatted and corrected for syntax.
Contents
NATIONAL HERALD FRAUDS
2012
OCT 9 – NEWS OF NH rE-LAUNCH
2014
JUNE 16 – SUMMONED Bx PatIALA COURT
What is National Herald Scam?
The whole transaction is a sham: IT
2015
OCT 4 – GandhIS REQUEST A ‹UDGE CHANGE
OCT 23 – YOUNG IndIAN DEAL ABOVE BOARD
DEC 05 – ‹UDGMENT RESERVED
Comprehensive report with detailed arguments of Dr. Swamy
DEC 07 – Dr. SWAMx PREVAILS IN NH CASE IN DELHI HC
DEC 08 – CONGRESS CRIES POLITICAL VENDETTA - WE BEG TO DISAGREE
DEC 10 – TMC, CONGRESS WALK OUT IN LOK Sabha
DEC 12 – RahUL GandhI’S COMMENTS AN INSULT TO DEMOCRACx
DEC 13 – REFORMS COULD GET DERAILED Bx NH SLUGFEST
DEC 13 – InSTEAD OF A NEHRU MEMORIAL LIBRARx, CONGRESS BhaVAN BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION COMING ON AJL MUMBAI PLOT
DEC 19 – SONIA, RahUL TO SEEK BAIL?
DEC 19 – SONIA, RahUL GRANTED BAIL - nEZT APPEARANCE ON FEB 20
DEC 22 – CONGRESS Partx IN THE DOCK
DEC 23 – SaI PraSAD SOCIETx CONSTRUCTED TO ACCOMMODATE SENIOR CONGRESS LEADERS
and bUREAUCRATS ON LAND AD‹aCENT TO NH PLOT
2016
Jan 03 – SUBRAMANIAN SWAMx SEEKS TO FORCE ED tO REVEAL ITS STAND IN NH CASE
Jan 03 – EZ-EMPLOxEES OF NH tO PROTEST IN LUCKNOW
Jan 29 – 4 thINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE THE FINANCE MINISTER: Dr. SWAMx FEB
05 – Whx WOULD RaGa, SOGa aPPEAL THE HC VERDICT IN SUPREME COURT?
FEB 12 – SUPREME COURT LIKELx tO HEAR SONIA, RahUL PLEA IN HERALD CASE ON FrIDAx
FEB 13 – SUPREME COURT ORDERS GandhIS BACK TO PatIALA HOUSE FOR THE NH-CASE FEB
23 – RaGa’S BrITISH BanK ACCOUNT REVEALED
Mar 22 – PEON GETS HIS “15 MINUTES FAME”
APR 19 – DELHI HC rESERVES ‹UDGMENT
JUN 01 – IndIA - GLOBAL ECONOMIC POWER, Dr. SWAMx CAN SHOW THE WAx...
JUN 25 – ShaKTIKANTA DaS AND HIS ROLE IN NH CASES
AUG 12 – SWAMx URGES Urban DEVELOPMENT MINISTRx tO TAKE OVER HERALD HOUSE
AUG 27 – COURT ISSUED NOTICE TO SONIA, RahUL ON SWAMx’S PLEA FOR SUMMONING
dOCUMENTS
SEP 06 – WOULD REVIVING NEWSPAPERS HELP THE GandhIS IN THE NHCaSE? SEP
18 – SONIA AND RahUL OB‹ECT TO SUMMONING OF DOCUMENTS IN NH CASE.
NOV 08 – ED SUMMONS MOTILAL VORA IN PanCHKULA LAND DEALS
NOV 15 – NatIONAL HERALD WEBSITE LAUNCH A COVER-UP TO BEG MERCx frOM THE COURT?
DEC 09 – BLAST FROM THE PaST: PatEL - NEHRU LETTERS EZPOSES THE FRAUDS IN FUND
COLLECTION FOR NH
DEC 09 – COURT TO DECIDE ON SUMMONING DOCUMENTS IN NH CASE ON DEC 26
DEC 26 – COURT DISMISSES SWAMx’S PETITION FOR DOCS FROM GOVT & CONGRESS. DIRECTS
tO FILE APPROPRIATE PETITION
2017
APR 06 – CBI fILES FIR agaINST HOODA AND AJL IN NH CASE – SENDS SHIVERS TO SONIA
and RahUL
APR 21 – EnfORCEMENT DIRECTORATE QUESTIONS VORA AND HOODA IN NH CASE
APR 22 – SWAMx fILES APPLICATION TO SUMMON HOODA. CONGRESS-OB‹ECTS
Max 12 – DELHI HIGH COURT RE‹ECTS SONIA & RahUL PETITION TO QUASH InCOME TaZ
aCTION
Max 13 – In 2004, IT had fOUND 5.3CR ILLEGAL PAxMENT Bx CONGRESS
Max 13 – GandhI FAMILx’S NEMESIS?
Max 14 – SWAMx WRITES TO CBI, ED DIRECTORS TO BOOK SONIA AND RahUL IN NH CASE
Max 14 – ThE DOCTRINE Cx-PRES & NH
Doctrine of Cy-pres and its scope and application in National Herald case
Max 24 – HC rE‹ECTS MOTILAL VORA’S PETITION AGAINST ED IN MONEx LaUNDERING PROBE
IN NH CASE
JUL 01 – SWAMx aPPLIES FOR DOCUMENTS FOR CONGRESS-AJL MONEx traIL
Seeks documents of AJL funding
AUG 05 – CONGRESS OB‹ECTS TO SUPPLx OF DOCUMENTS
Swamy produces documents to verify with them
AUG 21 – MagISTRATE SON TERMINATED. IS THE FATHER, JUSTICE V P VaISH IN TROUBLE TOO?
Son's dismissal could mean trouble for the Meghalaya High Court Judge V P Vaish
OCT 22 – SWAMx PRAISES PM MODI ON FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION, LISTS OUT 7 CRUCIAL
CASES ON WHICH CBI IS NOT ACTING
NOV 18 – SONIA & RahUL RE‹ECT CROSS VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS, aLLEGE SWAMx IS
dELAxING
National Herald case on Saturday in the Patiala Court
2018
Jan 01 – FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION MUST BE ONE OF THE MAIN NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS OF
PM MODI
Sonia family:
Vadra land grabbing:
Chidambaram family cases:
Ahmed Patel family cases:
NDTV cases:
Controversial 2G trial court judgment:
Jan 20 – InCOME TaZ FIZES SONIA-RahUL FIRM YOUNG IndIAN FOR RS.414 CRORES GAINS
frOM NH fraUDS. CaLLS CONGRESS RS.90 CRORES LOAN CLAIM “bOGUS”
Jan 22 – READ 105-PAGE InCOME TaZ ASSESSMENT OrdER AGAINST YOUNG IndIAN EZPOSING
RS.414 CRORES GAIN
Jan 24 – ThE SILENCE OF CONGRESS ON THE InCOME TaZ ASSESSMENT OrdER IN NH CASE IS
dEAFENING
Why is Congress observing Maun vrat?
Mar 19 – DELHI HC ORDERS YOUNG IndIAN TO DEPOSIT RS 10.CR IN InCOME TaZ RECOVERx
nOTICE OF RS.250 CRORES
Mar 28 – Whx IS CONGRESS QUIET ON THE IT fINE OF RS.249.15 CRORES?
Mar 31 – IS KaPIL SIBAL DILLx-daLLxING ON ANSWERING THE ALLEGATIONS OF
CONTROVERSIAL COMPANx PURCHASE AND LAND ACQUISITION?
APR 21 – CONGRESS OB‹ECTS ON AGREEING TO THEIR OWN DOCUMENTS. ArgUMENTS TO START
ON Max 5
Max 06 – SONIA AND RahUL OB‹ECT SWAMx’S DEMAND FOR PRODUCTION AND ADMISSION OF
thEIR OWN DOCUMENTS
Max 14 – COURT TO PASS ORDERS ON Max 26 fOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS. CONGRESS
CONTINUES TO OB‹ECT TO PRODUCING DOCUMENTS
Max 26 – ThE SPECIAL COURT FAST TRACKS NH trIAL. ALLOWS SWAMx tO PRODUCE
dOCUMENTS AND SUMMON OFFICIALS
JUL 21 – SUBRAMANIAN SWAMx STARTS SUBMITTING EVIDENCE
JUL 21 – CONGRESS LEADERS FILE PETITION TO RESTRAIN SUBRAMANIAN SWAMx frOM
TWEETING ON NH
AUG 05 – Urban DEVELOPMENT MINISTRx ISSUES NOTICE TO TAKEOVER THE HERALD HOUSE
AUG 08 – IT CATCHES RahUL FOR HUSHING UP YI DIRECTORSHIP OF RS.154 CRORES INCOME,
aPPROACHES DELHI HC tO QUASH ORDER
AUG 14 InCOME TaZ ALSO CATCHES SONIA GandhI FOR HUSHING UP DIRECTORSHIP OF YI and
hUSHING RS.154 CRORES
AUG 24 – ThE SCAM GETS MURKIER. UDM’S ShOW CaUSE NOTICE EZPOSES MORE FRAUDS AUG
25 – SWAMx PRODUCES InCOME TaZ AUTHENTICATED DOCUMENTS PUNCTURING CONGRESS RS.90
CR LOAN CLAIM AS EVIDENCE
SEP 10 – DELHI HIGH COURT DISMISSES SONIA-RahUL GandhI PETITIONS AGAINST InCOME
TaZ RE-aSSESSING IN NH CASE
SEP 14 – Mr. ArUN JaITLEx, hOPE xOU HAVE LEARNT xOUR LESSON FOR TREATING SONIA
faMILx WITH KID GLOVES
Jaitley and the DDCA
Sonia Gandhi and the Agusta Westland deal
SEP 17 – SWAMx COMPLETES SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE. CONGRESS LEADERS TO START CROS ON
OCTOBER 27
OCT 06 – CONGRESS DEMANDS COURT RESTRAIN SWAMx frOM TWEETING
OCT 16 – SWAMx’S ANTI-CORRUPTION, LEGAL BATTLES AND ITS EFFECT ON SOUTH IndIAN
POLITICS
OCT 20 – SWAMx dEMANDS AUTHENTICATION OF HIS TWEETS FROM CONGRESS LAWxER.
CrOSSING OF SWAMx IN NH CASE TO BEGIN ON NOV 17
NOV 12 – GOVERNMENT ISSUES NOTICE TO HERALD HOUSE TO VACATE Bx NOVEMBER 15.
CONGRESS LEADERSHIP RUSHES TO COURT
Covert acquisition by Shell companies
NOV 20 – COURT RE‹ECTS CONGRESS PETITION TO RESTRAIN SUBRAMANIAN SWAMx frOM
tWEETING IN NH CASE
DEC 03 – ED attaCHES ILLEGALLx aLLOTTED POSH PROPERTx tO NH IN PanCHKULA
DEC 21 – DELHI HC ORDERS AJL tO VACATE HERALD HOUSE WITHIN TWO WEEKS. ObSERVES
VIOLATIONS IN SONIA & RahUL FIRMS TAKEOVER
2019
Jan 05 – A COVERT OPERATION IN CBDT tO SAVE SONIA AND RahUL FROM InCOME TaZ CASE
IN NH COLLAPSES
Jan 14 – SWAMx URGES PM tO ORDER A PROBE ON WHO IS BEHIND THE DUBIOUS CBDT
CIRCULAR TO SAVE SONIA & RahUL FROM NH CASE
FEB 05 – CrOSS-EZAMINATION OF SUBRAMANIAN SWAMx bx SONIA GandhI AND RahUL
GandhI’S LAWxER BEGINS ON A LOW KEx
FEB 28 – DELHI HC SLAMS SONIA & RahUL OF A CLANDESTINE OPERATION TO FLOAT YIL.
OrdERS IMMEDIATE EVICTION OF HERALD HOUSE
Mar 12 – EZPOSED IN THE HERALD HOUSE FRAUDS, CONGRESS LEADERS-LED AJL aPPEALS TO
SC, aCCUSES-BJP OF PATHOLOGICAL ANIMUS TO NEHRU
Swamy vindicated
Max 29 – ED attaCHES RS.64 CRORES-WORTH PanCHKULA OFFICE OF NH fOR MONEx
LAUNDERING
NOV 13 – Dr. SWAMx,
thE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE
NOV 16 – InCOME TaZ TrIBUNAL EZPOSES THE FRAUDS AND DUBIOUS ACTIVITIES OF SONIA &
RahUL IN ACQUIRING PROPERTIES OF NH
Scam exposed by Swamy
NH Digital operation a sham
2020
APR 07 – SONIA MUST SURRENDER MORE THAN RS.5000 CRORES-WORTH ASSETS OF NH
grabbED Bx hER
NBA deplores Congress letter
Practice what you preach
Max 09 – ED attaCHES 11-fLOOR BUILDING IN Bandra EaST, MUMBAI FOR MONEx
LAUNDERING
JUN 26 – GOVERNMENT MUST TAKE BACK THE LAND AND BUILDING ILLEGALLx USED Bx Ra‹IV
GandhI FOUNDATION: SUBRAMANIAN SWAMx
DEC 05 –SWAMx dEMANDS SUMMONING OF InCOME TaZ DOCUMENTS AND CRUCIAL WITNESSES.
SONIA-RahUL LAWxERS CITE COVID, SEEKING MORE TIME TO CROSS SWAMx
DEC 24 – SONIA, RahUL OB‹ECT TO PRODUCTION OF IT and HERALD HOUSE EVICTION NOTICES
Income Tax and Urban Development Ministry documents expose the frauds in National
Herald
LIST OF REFERENCES AND AUTHORS
INDEX
APPENDIX
Appendix 1 – Delhi HC judgment
Appendix 2: National Herald vs BMC
Appendix 3: CBI FIR in National Herald - Hooda
Appendix 4: IT Assessment Order
Appendix 5: NH order of Judge Samar Vishal
Appendix 6: ITAT ruling on YI
Figures
FIGURE 1. ThE ART OF THE SCAM
FIGURE 2. PLAN TO REVIVE NatIONAL HERALD
FIGURE 3. REVERSAL TWO DAxS LATER
FIGURE 4. TIMELINE OF THE SCAM
FIGURE 5. NH FraUD EZPLAINED IN ONE CARTOON
FIGURE 6. GandhIS REQUEST A RE-aSSIGNED JUDGE IN NH CaSE
FIGURE 7. YOUNG IndIAN DEAL IS ABOVE BOARD
FIGURE 8. ‹UDGMENT RESERVED
FIGURE 9. Dr. SWAMx WINS!
FIGURE 10. POLITICAL VENDETTA? WE BEG TO DISAGREE
FIGURE 11. TMC, CONGRESS WALK OUT
FIGURE 12. RaGa COMMENTS ARE AN INSULT TO DEMOCRACx
FIGURE 13. REFORMS COULD GET DERAILED Bx NH SLUGFEST
FIGURE 14. A 11-fLOOR BUILDING COMING UP IN PLACE OF NEHRU MEMORIAL
FIGURE 15. SONIA, RahUL TO SEEK BAIL?
FIGURE 16. SONIA, RahUL GRANTED BAIL, nEZT APPEREANCE ON FEB 20
FIGURE 17. CONGRESS Partx IN THE DOCK
FIGURE 18. SaIPRASAD SOCIETx CONSTRUCTED ON THE LAND AD‹UCENT TO THE NatIONAL
HERALD PLOT
FIGURE 19. Dr. SWAMx SEEKS TO FORCE ED tO REVEAL ITS STAND IN NH CASE
FIGURE 20. Dr. SWAMx'S LETTER TO PM ON AUG 11
FIGURE 21. SWAMx LTR TO PM AUG-12 PagE 1
FIGURE 22. SWAMx'S ALLEGATIONS
FIGURE 23. SWAMx LTR TO PM AUG-12 PagE 2
FIGURE 24. EZ-LUCKNOW EMPLOxEES TO PROTEST
FIGURE 25. 4 thINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE THE FINANCE MINISTER - Dr. SWAMx
FIGURE 26. Whx WOULD RaGa, SOGa aPPEAL THE HC VERDICT IN SUPREME COURT?
FIGURE 27. SUPREME COURT LIKELx tO HEAR SONIA, RahUL
FIGURE 28. SUPREME COURT ORDERS GandhIS BACK TO MagISTRATE COURT
FIGURE 29. RahUL GandhIS BrITISH BanK ACCOUNT DETAILS REVEALED
FIGURE 30. PagE 1 OF LETTER Bx SWAMx tO KarnaL SINGH, DIR ED
FIGURE 31. PagE 2 OF LETTER Bx SWAMx tO KarnaL SINGH, DIR ED
FIGURE 32. DETAILS OF RahUL GandhI'S ACCOUNT AT BarCLAx'S BanK FIGURE
33. CONGRESS ORDERED TO SUBMIT ACCOUNTS FOR 2010-11
FIGURE 34. S GURUMURTHx tWEETS ON 90 CRORES P-1
FIGURE 35. S GURUMURTHx tWEETS ON 90 CRORES P-2
FIGURE 36. DELHI HC rESERVES ‹UDGMENT
FIGURE 37. Dr. SWAMx CAN SHOW THE WAx...
FIGURE 38.ShaKTIKANTA DaS AND HIS ROLE
FIGURE 39. SWAMx URGES Urban DEVELOPMENT MINISTRx tO TAKE OVER HERALD HOUSE
FIGURE 40. SWAMx WRITES TO THE Urban DEVELOPMENT MINISTER VENKAIAH NaIDU
FIGURE 41. PagE 2 OF SWAMx LETTER TO VENKAIAH NaIDU
FIGURE 42. CONGRESS ASKED TO RESPOND TO SWAMx’S PLEA FOR SUMMONING DOCUMENTS
FIGURE 43. WOULD REVIVING NEWSPAPERS HELP THE GandhIS IN THE NHCaSE?
FIGURE 44. DELAx taCTICS FROM SOGa and RaGa?
FIGURE 45. SUMMONS FROM ED tO MOTILAL VORA
FIGURE 46. LaUNCH OF WEBSITE IMMATERIAL TO THE CASE?
FIGURE 47. PatEL & NEHRU SPAR ON NH
FIGURE 48. PatEL LETTER TO NEHRU RE NatIONAL HERALD
FIGURE 49. OrdERS RESERVED TILL DEC 26
FIGURE 50. COURT ASKS SWAMx tO REQUEST FOR SPECIFIC DOCUMENTS
FIGURE 51. CBI fILES FIR agaINST HOODA AND AJL
FIGURE 52. ED QUESTIONS VORA AND HOODA
FIGURE 53. SWAMx tWEETS ON ED aCTION AGAINST HOODA
FIGURE 54. SWAMx fILES APPLICATION TO SUMMON HOODA
FIGURE 55. Whx IS CONGRESS NERVOUS?
FIGURE 56. DELHI HIGH COURT DIRECTS GandhIS TO RESPOND TO IT nOTICE
FIGURE 57. If SWAMx WAS AN INSPECTOR...
FIGURE 58. In 2004, IT had fOUND 5.3CR ILLEGAL PAxMENT Bx CONGRESS
FIGURE 59. HOW KESRI WAS REMOVED
FIGURE 60. ALERT NOTICE Bx IT dEPARTMENT
FIGURE 61. GandhI FAMILx’S NEMESIS?
FIGURE 62. SWAMx WRITES TO CBI, ED tO BOOK SONIA, RahUL UNDER PMLA
FIGURE 63. SWAMx WRITES TO CBI, ED aSKS THEM TO INVESTIGATE NH MONEx LAUNDERING
FIGURE 64. ThE DOCTRINE Cx-PRES & NH
FIGURE 65. PUN‹ab HIGH COURT ON HAS RE‹ECTED THE PETITION FILED Bx MOTILAL VORA
agaINST ED’S PROBE IN NatIONAL HERALD
FIGURE 66. SWAMx aPPLIES FOR DOCUMENTS FOR CONGRESS-AJL MONEx traIL
FIGURE 67. MORE SCAMS IN INC'S BACKxard
FIGURE 68. And ONE MORE, BOFORS!
FIGURE 69. CONGRESS OB‹ECTS TO SUPPLx OF DOCUMENTS
FIGURE 70. NH CASE AT A THRESHOLD
FIGURE 71. MagISTRATE SON TERMINATED. IS THE FATHER, JUSTICE V P VaISH IN TROUBLE TOO?
FIGURE 72. SWAMx PraISES PM MODI ON FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
FIGURE 73. SWAMx WRITES TO PM URGES CBI aCTION
FIGURE 74. ArE SONIA & RahUL HIDING DOCUMENTS?
FIGURE 75. ACT NOW AGAINST THE CORRUPT PM MODI
FIGURE 76. IT CALLS CONGRESS RS.90 CRORES LOAN CLAIM “bOGUS”
FIGURE 77. 105-PAGE InCOME TaZ ASSESSMENT OrdER AGAINST YOUNG IndIAN EZPOSING
RS.414 CRORES GAIN
FIGURE 78. DID PIDI DELIVER IT AT SWAMx'S DOOR?
FIGURE 79. Or WAS IT THE NEWSPAPER DELIVERx MAN?
FIGURE 80. ThE SILENCE OF CONGRESS IN THE IT aSSESMENT REPORT IN YOUNG IndIAN IS
SURPRISING
FIGURE 81. DELHI HC ORDERS YOUNG IndIAN TO PAx
RS.10 CRORES FIRST IN THIER PETION
agaINST THE IT OERDER
FIGURE 82. Whx IS CONGRESS QUIET ON THE IT fINE OF RS.249.15 CRORES?
FIGURE 83. YI hUSHED UP INCOME
FIGURE 84. InCOME TaZ LETTER TO YI
FIGURE 85. IS KaPIL SIBAL DILLx-daLLxING ON ANSWERING A SIMPLE QUESTION?
FIGURE 86. ArgUMENTS TO START ON Max 5
FIGURE 87. SONIA, RahUL OB‹ECT SWAMx’S DEMAND FOR PRODUCTION AND ADMISSION OF THEIR
OWN DOCUMENTS
FIGURE 88. COURT TO PASS ORDERS ON Max 26 fOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS FIGURE
89. DID THE CONGRESS LEADERSHIP PAINT ITSELF INTO A CORNER IN THE CASE? FIGURE
90. SWAMx STARTS SUBMITTING EVIDENCE
FIGURE 91. CONGRESS LEADERS FILE PETITION TO RESTRAIN SWAMx frOM TWEETING ON CASE
FIGURE 92. SWAMx SUGGESTS NaMO BE CAREFUL
FIGURE 93. Urban DEVELOPMENT MINISTRx ISSUES NOTICE TO TAKEOVER THE HERALD HOUSE
FIGURE 94. InCOME TaZ CATCHES RahUL FOR HUSHING UP YOUNG IndIAN DIRECTORSHIP &
RS.154 CRORES INCOME.
FIGURE 95. InCOME TaZ ALSO CATCHES SONIA GandhI FOR HUSHING UP DIRECTORSHIP OF
YOUNG IndIAN AND HUSHING RS.154 CRORES
FIGURE 96. IS THIS WHx RaGa dID NOT WANT SWAMx tO TWEET?
FIGURE 97. ThE SCAM GETS MURKIER. UDM’S ShOW CaUSE NOTICE EZPOSES MORE FRAUDS
FIGURE 98. SWAMx SUBMITS AUTHENTICATED DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE
FIGURE 99. DELHI HIGH COURT RE‹ECTS PETITIONS CHALLENGING InCOME TaZ RE-aSSESSMENT
FIGURE 100. NOT MANx OPTIONS TO ESCAPE...
FIGURE 101. Mr. JaITLEx, hOPE xOU HAVE LEARNT xOUR LESSON
FIGURE 102. SWAMx COMPLETES SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE. CrOSS-EZAMINATION START ON
OCTOBER 27
FIGURE 103. CONGRESS DEMANDS COURT RESTRAIN SWAMx frOM TWEETING ABOUT THE CASE
FIGURE 104. SWEET TWEET
FIGURE 105. ALL THE EFFORTS OF Dr. SWAMx tO OUT CONGRESS Partx CORRUPTION AND GETthE
CORRUPT ‹aIL IS ABOUT TO BEAR FRUIT
FIGURE 106. SWAMx tURNS THE TABLE ON CONGRESS LAWxERS - dEMANDS AUTHENTICATION OF
hIS TWEETS
FIGURE 107. UDM ISSUES NOTICE TO HERALD HOUSE TO VACATE Bx NOVEMBER 15
FIGURE 108. NH CASE JUDGE - Dr. SWAMx IS FREE TO TWEET ABOUT IT
FIGURE 109. ED attaCHES PanCHKULA PROPERTx aLLOTTED TO NH UNDER PMLA
FIGURE 110. DELHI HIGH COURT UPHOLDS THE EVICTION ORDER OF HERALD HOUSE Bx UDM
FIGURE 111. Partx bEGINS AT HERALD HOUSE
FIGURE 112. AnOTHER MOVE Bx CBDT IN THE FINANCE MINISTRx tO SAVE RaGa and SOGa
FIGURE 113. SWAMx URGES PM tO ORDER A PROBE ON WHO IS BEHIND THE DUBIOUS CBDT
CIRCULAR
FIGURE 114. CrOSS-EZAMINATION OF SWAMx bEGINS ON A LOW KEx
FIGURE 115.SWAMx tWEETS START OF CROSS-EZAMINATION
FIGURE 116. CrOSS-EZAMINATION OF SWAMx - 2
FIGURE 117. DELHI HC OrdERS IMMEDIATE EVICTION OF HERALD HOUSE. What nEZT? SUPREME
COURT?
FIGURE 118. LEGAL TEAM OF RaGa & Saga trxING EVERx trICKS TO SAVE HERALD HOUSE FIGURE
119. OnE Bx ONE, thE OFFICES OF NH arE BEING ATTACHED WITH PANCHKULA BEING THE
LATEST
FIGURE 120. Dr. SWAMx, thE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE, EVERx ONE FROM WITHIN AND OUTSIDE
WANTED HIM OUT BUT STILL HE WON’t gIVE UP
FIGURE 121. ITAT CONFIRMS THE FRAUD COMMITTED IN ACQUIRING IN ASSESTS OF AJL
FIGURE 122. SONIA GandhI SHOULD GIVE BACK NH PROPERTIES AND BACK TAZES BEFORE
PREACHING AUSTERIT x MEASURES TO GOI
FIGURE 123. CONGRESS DIVERSION?
FIGURE 124. ED attaCHES NatIONAL HERALD Bandra PROPERTx OF NH
FIGURE 125. SWAMx WRITES TO PM, STRONGLx rECOMMENDS GOVT. TAKE BACK LAND AND
bUILDING ALLOTTED TO RGF
FIGURE 126. RGF SCAM
FIGURE 127. SWAMx dEMANDS SUMMONING OF InCOME TaZ DOCUMENTS AND CRUCIAL WITNESSES
FIGURE 128. LaWxERS OF THE ACCUSSED TRx MORE DELAx taCTICS IN NH CASE
FIGURE 129. SWAMx'S TWEET
2012
The art of a Scam
National Herald scam first came in the public domain from a report
T hepublished
in ‘The Pioneer’ newspaper on October 9, 2012 by journalist
J Gopikrishnan. The report was on the formation of a new private
company titled ‘Young Indian (YI)’ by the Congress President Sonia
Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi and that Young Indian took over the
National Herald newspaper publishing company Associated Journals
Limited (AJL), a public limited company floated in 1938 by freedom
fighters. The report headline was – ‘Sonia-Rahul set to revive media
interests’.
The report also quoted the documents of ‘Young Indian’ saying that the
Young Indian has decided to take over the liability of AJL to the Congress
party of about Rs.90 crores at a value of Rs.50 lakhs. This curious wording
of ‘Young Indian decided to take over the liability of AJL to the
Congress party of Rs.90 crores at a value of Rs.50 lakhs’ planted doubts in
the minds of many. The following day several newspapers carried the
Pioneer report.
But the situation changed when journalist Gopikrishnan received an email
from Rahul Gandhi late in the evening that day. In that email, Rahul Gandhi
said that the report of a re-launch of the National Herald newspaper was
totally wrong and on October 11, 2012, Pioneer carried a report that Rahul
denied the re-launch of National Herald. This point onwards Senior
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader (then in the Janata Party) Subramanian
Swamy started asking questions that if YI is not reviving the newspaper,
then why take over a newspaper publishing company AJL? Veteran
Journalist Sandhya Jain wrote a series of articles in a website Niti Central on
the irregularities in shareholding pattern of AJL, having hundreds of dead
shareholders.
Figure 2 Plan to revive National Herald under Gandhi family.
Figure 1 Reversal of the announcement two days later.
2014
June 16 – Summoned by Patiala
Court
Figure 4. Timeline of the scam
o understand what transpired next, it is important to take a look at the
T prevailing
political landscape in India. Fresh from the 2G scam victory,
Subramanian Swamy had taken over the political discourse of India. His
win against the Congress in the 2G scandal had put the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) on the mat. With another sensational revelation, Swamy’s
popularity had skyrocketed.
What is National Herald Scam?
The AJL was a public limited company floated by freedom fighters in
1938 under the leadership of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal
Nehru and known as the organ of Congress party. After Independence,
AJL got the prime lands across India to start editions of National Herald
newspaper. The lands and buildings in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal,
Panchkula, Indore, Patna etc were valued at more than Rs.2,000 crores. In
2008, Congress leadership decided to stop publishing the National Herald
newspaper and its Hindi and Urdu versions too. In late 2010, Sonia and
Rahul floated a private company called Young Indian with 38 percent
shareholding for each. The remaining 24 percent shares were held by
Gandhi family’s confidants Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandez (12 percent
each). Gandhi family’s trusted persons Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey
were also Directors in this shell company – Young Indian. Interestingly,
the now late Motilal Vora was a common figure – He was the Treasurer of
Congress, Chairman and Managing Director of AJL and a Director at Young
Indian. Many a time, Subramanian Swamy explained the scam in simple
way that Motilal Vora went to Motilal Vora in another capacity to execute
the scam (see Figure 5).
Figure 5. NH Fraud explained in one cartoon
On November 1, 2012, Subramanian Swamy conducted a big press
conference exposing the documents of the National Herald scam. The very
next day, Congress leaders owed up that they paid Rs.90 crores to help
National Herald, which was illegal, as a political party was not supposed
to fund commercial activities. Later, during the Income Tax investigation,
it was found that Congress party’s claim was bogus, and the party had no
records of such money transaction.
Subramanian Swamy approached the trial court in Delhi petitioning the
National Herald scam in February 2013 charging Sonia and Rahul of
cheating, and criminal conspiracy to grab the Rs.2000 crores-worth
land and assets of AJL by floating a shell firm. After 16 months of
arguments by Swamy, on June 26, 2014 the trial court Magistrate Gomati
Manocha summoned Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and five others to
appear before the Court on August 7. This was the first time Sonia Gandhi
was summoned by a Court and Congress went into a tizzy and started
mouthing all kinds of abuses. A few days before appearing in the trial court,
Congress leaders obtained a stay from the Delhi High Court. Three Judges
were changed during the case and at last Justice Sunil Gaur on
December 8, 2015 ratified the trial court’s summoning order and asked
Sonia, Rahul, and others to appear in the trial court on December 19,
2015.
Till the date of the Court appearance, Congress stalled the Parliament
Session several times, accusing BJP of political vendetta and at last the
leaders appeared before the Court on December 19, 2015. All the accused
including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandez,
Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and Young Indian were granted bail and the
trial is going on between the accused challenging many procedures of trial
court in High Court. In January 2016, Supreme Court categorically said that
the trial must go on.
In 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) found blatant irregularities in the land allotment and
building usage of National Herald properties in Panchkula and Mumbai
and the ED has attached both assets in 2019 and 2020. In 2018, Income
Tax found huge tax violation of more than Rs.414 crores in Young Indian
by illegally acquiring the assets of AJL, worth more than Rs.2000 crores.
The headquarters in Delhi - Herald House – was asked to vacate by the
Urban Development Ministry. In both cases, the Government actions were
ratified by the Delhi High Court and the accused’s final appeal is before
the Supreme Court form 2019.
NAME
POSITION
IN INC
POSITION IN
YI & NO. OF
POSITION IN AJL
SHARES HELD
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
President
of INC
-
Director
since
22.01.2011
-1900 shares
(38% )
Mr. Rahul Gandhi
General
Secretary
-
Director
since
13.12.2010
-1900 shares
(38% )
Mr. Motilal Vora
(deceased)
Treasurer
of INC,
Chairman and Managing
Director since22.03.2002
Director
since
22.01.2011
- 600 shares
(12% )
Mr. Oscar Fernandes
Long
Standing
office
bearer.
Presently
the General
Secretary
Director since17.6.2010
Director
since
22.01.2011
- 600 shares
(12% )
Mr. Satyan Gangaram
Pitroda @ Sam Pitroda
Close
associate of
Mrs. Sonia
Gandhi and
Rahul
Gandhi
Director
21.12.2010
Mr. Suman Dubey
Close
associate of
Mrs. Sonia
Gandhi and
Rahul
Gandhi and
Press
Advisor to
Former
Prime
Minister
Director
21.12.2010
since
since
Director
since
23.11.2010
Held 550
shares
but
transferred it
to Mr.
Oscar
Fernandes
Director
since
23.11.2010
Held 550
shares but
transferred it
to Mrs.Son
ia Gandhi
The whole transaction is a sham: IT
The 105-page assessment order of the Income Tax Department dated Dec
27, 2017 lays bare the sham transaction that was done to usurp the assets of
AJL. The number of errors committed, including brazenly claiming that
Congress put Rs.90.21crores into AJL between 2002 and 2008 without
sufficient proof, is but a glimpse into the hubris-afflicted family comprising
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi. The document is a
must-read for anyone who wants to know how under the UPA regime shell
companies were used to move money in and out of legitimate businesses.
Below explains the roles played by the same set of six individuals to
facilitate this sham transaction (Dec 2017). Some have died, and some roles
have changed since then.
These two chapters set the context. We have been consistently covering
every event in National Herald case from October 2015. It is now 2021 and
Congress continues to employ dilatory tactics as they try to stop the
inevitabl
2015
Oct 4 – Gandhis request a judge
change
Figure 6. Gandhis request a re-assigned Judge in NH Case
n an interesting turn of events, Zee News report ed[1] that Congress
president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday moved
the Delhi High Court seeking the transfer of hearing in the National
Heraldcase to the judge who had earlier heard the arguments in
the matter atlength. The Gandhis would like to have Justice Sunil Gaur
(who had beenre-assigned by the court administration earlier) to try this
case instead of Justice P S Teji. As the events turned out, the case was
indeed heard by Justice Sunil Gaur,in December.
I
O c t 2 3 – Yo u n g I n d i a n d e a l
above board
Figure 7. Young Indian deal is above board
sserting all deals of Young Indian were above board, the Congress on
Friday welcomed any probe with regard to the National Herald case. In
an interview to ABP News, Randeep Surjewala asserted that “Young
Indian had taken a commercial loan of ₹1 crore ($154,000) through cheque
from a company of RPG group at an interest of 14%. The entire loan along
with interest has been repaid to the same company of RPG group” [2] .
A
“If the Government of India, Enforcement Directorate, Registrar of
Companies, Income Tax Department (IT), or any other agency have any
doubts regarding the financial dealings of RPG group or Young India, they
can initiate investigations. We would welcome it and are ready to cooperate
with them,” said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday levelled charges against Congress
president Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi in
connection with the National Herald case, alleging Young India, a company
in which both Gandhis are said to have major stake, had borrowed a total
of Rs.1 crore from a firm which was allegedly involved in converting
black money into white.
“Every account of Young Indian has been audited by income tax
department; returns have been filed at registrar of companies. There is no
doubt in its financial dealings. The loan has been repaid through a cheque
,” said Surjewala.
NOTE:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 US Dollar = 64.78 Rupees
Dec 05 – judgment Reserved
Figure 8. judgment Reserved
Comprehensive report with detailed
a r g u m e n t s o f D r. S w a m y
he Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its judgment in the National
T Herald
case after senior BJP leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy made a
forceful argument for dismissal of the pleas of Congress President Sonia
Gandhi, her son, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, and four others against
a trial court order summoning them on a cheating and breach of trust
complaint.
But to the discomfort of the Congress stalwarts, Justice Sunil Gaur
observed that the Congress party could have written off the loan of Rs
90.25 crores it had given to the Associate Press Journal - publishers of
National Herald, instead of assigning it to a charitable company — Young
Indian, in which some of its leaders are directors.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the Gandhis, argued that the
Congress `assigned’ the loan to Young Indian to “clean the balance sheets
of AJL “for the revival of the company and to make it loan worthy.
In the heart of the alleged scandal is the fact that the Congress loaned Rs
90.25 crores to (AJL), on December 28, 2010 and subsequently
assignedthis debt to Young Indian Ltd (YIL), a charitable company, for
Rs.50 lakhs.
Interestingly, Sonia and Rahul hold 76 percent share in the YIL and 12
per cent each are held by Congress treasurer Motilal Vora and party leader
Oscar Fernandes. Vora is also the Chief Managing Director of the AJL,
which has huge real estate assets worth around Rs.2000 cr.
The trial court had issued summons to Sonia, Rahul, Vora, Oscar Fernandes,
Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda (the last two are directors of the YIL). The
Congress leaders came to the HC seeking quashing of the trial court order.
Dr. Swamy contended that the loan was “illegally” given to the AJL since
political parties cannot give such loans for commercial purposes. He also
said that the YIL was floated by Sonia, Rahul, and Congress leaders to grab
the properties of the AJL. However, Kapil Sibal and Senior Advocate
Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended that political parties can invest in
news publications citing instances that the Congress party has already done
so in the establishment of new portals and websites such as TheQuint.in,
ThePrint.in, Scroll.in, Scoopwhoop.in etc., and certain YouTube channels.
Dr. Swamy also argued that the AJL cannot legally assign its debt to the
YIL at a ‘farcical value' of Rs.50 lakhs, and the said debt owed by the
AJL to Congress was irretrievable. Sibal denied Swamy’s charges of
cheating and criminal breach of trust as no offence was committed against
any an individual. He also questioned Swamy’s locus to file the complaint
since he was not a victim.
Sibal argued that there was nothing wrong in giving loan to the AJL by the
Congress and also refuted Swamy's argument that the AJL ownership
changed after assigning of the loan to the YIL.
Sibal claimed that stakes of the promoters and shareholders remained the
same before and after the shares were issued. Below is the timeline thus far:
On June 26, 2014, the trial court had summoned Sonia, Rahul,
Vora, Fernandes, Dubey and Pitroda to appear before it on
August 7, 2014 on Swamy's complaint.
On July 30, 2014, the Congress leaders approached the high
court which stayed the summons on August 6 last year.
On December 15, 2014, the court had stayed the summons till
final disposal of the petitions.
Stalling of the legal process began after this and it has not ended till the
writing of this book in 2021.
D e c 0 7 – D r. S w a m y p r e v a i l s i n
N- H c a s e i n D e l h i H C
Figure 9. Dr. Swamy wins!
he Delhi High Court handed down the judgment in the National Herald
T
case, dismissing the petition of Congress to not appear in front of
the Patiala Court. News from the High Court is that the Congress is
rushing to the Supreme Court to file an appeal. Otherwise, Rahul and
Sonia would have to appear in person in the Patiala District Court.
It has been observed in the past that the Supreme Court rarely overturns the
ruling of 2 lower courts unless there is compelling evidence to the contrary.
With this the stature of Dr. Subramanian Swamy will rise significantly as a
crusader of just causes. The link to the complete judgment is given in
Appendix
1
along
with
excerpts.
Dec 08 – Congress cries
P o l i t i c a l v e n d e t t a - We b e g t o
disagree
Figure 10. Political Vendetta? We beg to disagree
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all thetime, but
you cannot fool all the people all the time.
- Abraham Lincoln
C
ongress' stance that the National Herald Case is one of political
vendetta by the BJP does not hold water for the following reasons:
1. This was a private criminal case filed by Dr. Swamy in 2012
in Delhi Court during the UPA regime. At that time, Dr.
Swamy
was not in the BJP but he was the President of Janata Party.
2. The case took its own time and on June 26, 2014 the Judge Ms.
Gomati Manocha, the Metropolitan Magistrate-02, Patiala
House Courts, New Delhi summoned the office bearers of
Young Indian to the court.
3. It took several months before every officer of the company
could be served the summons. One such individual, Satyen
(Sam) Pitroda had to be located in the USA before being
served!
4. Congress then moved the Delhi High Court to quash the
summons issued. They used every trick in the book to delay
thecase in the High Court.
5. All the work in this case was done by Dr. Swamy's team. As far
as we know, there was no involvement of any significant BJP
leader in this effort.
6. BJP in fact, let the law of the land dictate the course of events.
How is that Political vendetta?
7. News has just emerged that the Metropolitan Judge for
this case has been changed from Ms. Gomati Manocha to
Sh. Lovleen. Is Congress going to say that they had nothing to
do with this change? It has been done before, in the Delhi
High Court!
It is time the Congress Party faces up to the realities of their actions. Surely
if there was no impropriety, they could have said that at the trial! The delay
tactics hint at some serious mischief being conducted.
Dec 10 – TMC, Congress walk
outinLokSabha
Figure 11. TMC, Congress walk out
members on Thursday staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha
C ongress
while demanding the suspension of BJP member Virendra Singh unless
he tendered an “unconditional apology” for making certain remarks
against Congress leaders.
Trinamool Congress parliamentarians too walked out of the Lok Sabha,
saying the government had not risen to the occasion to resolve the impasse
in the house.
Raising the issue after Question Hour, Congress leader in the house,
Mallikarjun Kharge, alleged that the government seemed to be supporting
the BJP member.
“Unless you suspend (the member) or there is an unconditional apology, it
will affect the dignity of members. Please suspend him ,” Kharge said.
“If the government supports such people, we are not going to tolerate ,”
Kharge added.
The Congress leader said there was intolerance during the present
government's rule, and it was indulging in political vendetta against its
opponents.
“We are walking out for the day ,” Kharge said.
The Congress on Wednesday complained to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
about Virendra Singh's remarks. The Speaker told the members on
Thursday that she had expunged the objectionable part of Virendra Singh's
remarks.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy responded to
Kharge's remarks and said the house was discussing the drought situation
for the past two days, but the Congress members were continually laying
siege to the speaker's podium.
He said Congress members had also raised slogans with their back to the
prime minister but did not express any regret over their behaviour.
“How long will these double standards continue ?” he wondered.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the drought situation
in several parts of the country, parliamentarian Virendra Singh on
Wednesday challenged the Congress leaders on their knowledge
about the farmers in the country.
In his speech, he made certain remarks against Congress leaders Rahul
Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia to which the Congress members objected.
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said that Virendra Singh should
apologise for his remarks and added that the speaker had also suggested he
do so.
Mahajan said she cannot force the member to apologise. She noted that
papers were thrown at the chair on Wednesday. “Who all should I tell to
apologise? Is it right to throw papers?” she said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said there cannot be two
set of rules for the members.
“Coming to the well (of the house) and raising slogans against the Prime
Minister... It should be avoided ,” he said.
Naidu said Deputy Speaker M. Thamburai's patience was tested by the
protesting members on Wednesday.
Naidu said the entire country was watching and crucial bills, like the one
on Goods and Services Tax, were pending and urged members of the
Trinamool Congress and the Congress to return to the house.
Referring to Wednesday's protests, Biju Janata Dal member Bhartruhari
Mahtab said that not only were papers thrown while the deputy speaker was
in the chair, but his desk too was thumped repeatedly.
“His patience was tested again and again ,” he said, adding that visual
recordings would show that it was a serious matter.
The BJD member urged the government to ensure that no bill was passed
amid din in the house. Naidu responded by saying that the government was
not keen to get the bills passed amid the din.
However, he said the ongoing parliament session should not conclude
without passing of the crucial bills.
Referring to Congress protests against the government over perceived
“political vendetta” in the National Herald case, he said members of the
opposition party should not come near the speaker's podium to protest.
D e c 1 2 – R a h u l G a n d h i ’s
commentsaninsultto
democracy
Figure 12. RaGa comments are an insult to democracy
nion Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani on Friday
slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his comment that
“National Herald case is vendetta coming out of the Prime Minister's
Office,” calling it an insult to democracy.
U
“There can't be a bigger insult to our democracy. Judiciary and Democracy
don't function at someone's comfort,” Irani said addressing a session at
'Agenda Aaj Tak' being organised here in the city.
The statements being made by Gandhi show that if the “Judiciary doesn't
kneel before the Gandhi family; parliament won't be allowed to
function.”
The Parliament was not allowed to function properly because of this case.
Repeated disruptions, cat calls in the house, members assembling in the
well of the house – all to try and hide an open and shut case of stealing in
plain
sight.
Dec 13 – Reforms could get
derailedbyNH slugfest
Figure 13. Reforms could get derailed by NH slugfest
are unlikely to be any outright winners in the latest confrontation
T here
between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over the
National Herald case which entails a legal battle involving Sonia Gandhi
and Rahul Gandhi.
What is more, there will be an unsavoury twist to the case with less than
comforting implications for the BJP if the Congress's crown prince carries
out his threat of courting imprisonment. Even if the ruling party dubs such
an act as theatrical, it will be aware that the sight of Rahul Gandhi behind
bars cannot but be embarrassing for the BJP.
Such a dramatic turn of events may fuel speculation that the absence of a
sound legal defence has compelled the Congress to turn the encounter into a
political duel. But such tricks of the trade are an acceptable part of
democratic politics. For the BJP, the immediate problem will be the future
of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill since the Congress is bound to
use the charge of being a victim of political vendetta to stall parliament.
It is a provocative tactic which seemingly suits Rahul Gandhi's postsabbatical belligerence which is increasingly resembling his late uncle
Sanjay Gandhi's confrontational brand of politics. If the fate of the GST Bill
is sealed for the time being, the BJP may wonder whether the penchant of
the maverick in its ranks, Subramanian Swamy, to involve his adversaries in
court cases may have backfired. The BJP may argue that Swamy has been
acting on his own in pursuing the National Herald case and that it is meanminded of the Congress to mix up the GST Bill with its own legal
difficulties in a Goebbelsian manoeuvre, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
has said. But, since democracy is known to be messy, the case for the
compartmentalization of its various aspects may not be foolproof. As it is,
the Congress has found a supporter in Mamata Banerjee even if she is
playing her own game of keeping the Congress away from a possible
alliance with the Left in West Bengal before next year's assembly elections.
Besides, both the Congress and the Trinamool Congress have a point in
saying that the interest which the central authorities have shown in the
National Herald case is not visible in the Vyapam and the public
distribution system scams in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which are
governed by the BJP.
Nothing demonstrated the extra interest that the authorities have taken in
the National Herald case more clearly than the transfer of an Enforcement
Directorate official who had dismissed the charges against the Congress
leaders. The transfer was quickly followed by the appointment of another
official and the revival of the case after Swamy had accused the previous
incumbent of having been favourably disposed towards the Congress.
It is now up to the judiciary to address the nitty-gritty of the affair. But
public interest will be focussed more on how the political skirmishes unfold
than in the details of the case.
As Sonia Gandhi's comment that she is Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law
shows, she and her party have in mind the blunder committed by the Janata
government in 1977 when it tried to implicate the doughty former prime
minister in legal tangles.
Indira Gandhi's spirited response - like a sherni or lioness, as was said at the
time - paved the way for the Congress's return to power in 1980.
History may not always repeat itself - or does so in the form of a farce, as
Marx said - but even if the Congress under Sonia Gandhi is not what the
Congress was under Indira Gandhi, the BJP also is not as much of a
winner as it was last year, as its massive defeats in Delhi and Bihar
have shown.
The party has also exhibited a vindictive streak as its cases against
Teesta Setalvad for her role in aiding Gujarat's riot victims show. Its
acts against reputed NGOs like Greenpeace also underline a similar
mentality. Its claim, therefore, that the Narendra Modi government is no
more than a bystander in the face-off between the Congress's big guns
and Swamy, who is a member of the BJP's national executive, will not be
widely believed.
For all practical purposes, therefore, it is going to be a Tom and Jerry show
with neither emerging with flying colours. Each side will try to hit the other
where it hurts the most - the Congress by creating a ruckus in parliament
even if it earns the reputation of being petty-minded, and the BJP by
arguing that none in the Congress's first family - Sonia Gandhi, Rahul
Gandhi, Robert Vadra - is above the law.
The endless slugfest, however, between the two “national” parties (although
neither has a presence in all parts of the country) carries the threat of not
only derailing the reforms - Swamy has suggested that the GST can be
dumped for the sake of fighting corruption - but also of fostering the
impression that the parliamentary system is becoming unworkable.
It is unfortunate that at a time when Modi adopted a conciliatory tone in
parliament, a member of his party acted in a manner which introduced fresh
complications in the relations between the BJP and the Congress. It is
almost as if the right hand does not know what the left is doing
Dec 13 – Instead of a Nehru
Memorial Library, Congress
Bhavan building construction
coming on AJL Mumbai Plot
Figure 14. A 11-floor building coming up in place of Nehru Memorial
P
rime Land allotted to M/s Associated Journals (AJL), the holding
company of the Congress Mouthpiece the National Herald and
Qaumi Awaz newspapers was granted a waiver of interest charges to
a tune of Rs 2.79 crores ($417,000) accrued due to delayed
payment for land
allotment. Instead of a Nehru Memorial Library, a Congress Bhavan
building construction is coming up on AJL Mumbai Plot. This information
was provided to RTI activist Anil Galgali by BMC Fire Brigade.
RTI activist Anil Galgali had sought information from the Municipal
corporations Building proposal dept about the permissions granted to M/s
Associate Journals Limited (AJL) for carrying out construction on the land.
It was informed that the company was issued commencement certificate
on 14/06/2013 by the MCGM and since the land came under the funnel
of the Airport Authority the NOC for the same was granted on
05/02/2014. The building will be of 11 floors and will be having a
minimum of 135 car parking spaces, it also has 14 office spaces in the
ground to the 11th floor, but there is no earmarking for Newspaper
offices, Library and Research center. Instead of Nehru Memorial Library,
a Congress Bhavan building construction will be coming up on AJL
Mumbai Plot. Fire Brigade issue NOC for Congress Bhavan on 8 February
2013.
Inspite of corresponding with the State Government on numerous occasions
by Anil Galgali, no action has been taken. Anil Galgali in a letter addressed
to CM Devendra Fadnavis has demanded that the construction activity
should be immediately stopped, and the land allotment be immediately
scrapped, and possession be taken by the govt and since the land is
originally reserved for the purpose of Hostel for Backward classes, and
hostel for the Backward class be constructed on the land.
How did they get a Prime Plot?
Amid allegations that the Congress party gave an interest-free loan to
Associated Journals Ltd with an eye on the company’s real estate assets, it
now emerges that the company that publishes National Herald and Quami
Awaz was allotted a prime plot of land by the government of
Maharashtra in suburban Mumbai, ostensibly for a press and a Nehru
Memorial Library, neither of which was built.
Government documents procured from RTI activist Anil Galgali show that
the land was allotted to M/s Associated Journal in 1983 for Rs 1.31 crore
($196,000) in Bandra. However, they did not observe one of the key
conditions of the lease by commencing construction in the plot within 3
years of it being allotted. Moreover, it did not even pay up the entire
principal amount in one go. The interest on the amount turned out to a
massive Rs 2.79 crores ($479,000) which in 2001 was waived off by then
Revenue Minister Ashok Chavan. The plot was given for daily news
publication, a Nehru library and a research centre in 1983 by Government
but it is still is in an as is condition. This plot before handover to M/s
Associated Journal's, was to build a hostel for students (Scheduled
Caste) for which it was originally reserved. Not only did Associated
Journals not construct the press building and library, but it also managed to
obtain repeated extensions from the State Government while continuing to
hold onto the 30-year lease, which now expires on 22/12/2014.
After Anil Galgali's RTI and Complaint made to the Government, now the
Company had started the construction work. “Will you as chief minister be
able to initiate proceedings for the state government to reclaim land that is
now under the control of Rahul Gandhi? There is a question about this,”
Galgali has said in his letter dated 2.11.2012. He goes on to say that the
market value of the land is now about Rs 250 crores ($37.364 million). But
then the Mr. Clean CM did not take any action after a reminder letter was
sent by Galgali dated12.12.2013.
According to the Mumbai Mirror[3] , the Mumbai Unit of the BJP has
written to BMC chief Ajoy Mehta, demanding that a 'stop work' notice be
issued to prevent further misuse of a plot in Bandra [4] . Mumbai Mirror
goes on to further report that the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra
Fadnavis on Tuesday the 15th of December, 2015, announced a probe to
know whether the plot was used for commercial activities. “We will
conduct an inquiry and if irregularity is observed, action will be taken in
accordance with law,” Fadnavis said.
Copies of the correspondence between BMC and Shri. Galgali as well as
the submissions and correspondence between BMC and Motilal Vora, the
Treasurer is provided as a link in Appendix 2.
Dec 19 – Sonia, Rahul to seek
bail?
Figure 15. Sonia, Rahul to seek bail?
president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi may
C ongress
seek bail in a trial court here on Saturday in the National Herald case if
the need arises, party sources said on Friday.
The two leaders were also keen that party leaders and supporters from other
states did not throng the capital on Saturday, the sources added.
Party sources said suggestions on senior state party leaders trooping into
Delhi to coincide with the court appearance of the two were turned down by
the top brass as it would have led to public inconvenience and traffic snarls
and given an opportunity to political rivals to hit out at the party.
There was apprehension that a large gathering could be dubbed by Congress
rivals as an effort to influence the judiciary, party sources observed.
However, the Congress has directed its MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha to stay put in the national capital during the weekend.
Party leaders sought to delink instructions to MPs to stay back from the
National Herald case.
There were reports earlier that all Congress chief ministers and leaders of
legislative parties in the states will come to Delhi on Saturday. There were
also reports that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi may not seek bail though
party leaders gave firm indications that bail will be sought.
Party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said all legal options were open to
the party, including applying for bail. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad
too spoke in a similar vein on Thursday.
“The Congress president and vice president have full faith in the judiciary
and full faith in the law of the land. Whatever we shall have to do as per the
law, we will do ,” Azad said.
Congress sources however said party leaders may converge at party's
central office at 24, Akbar Road, on their own to express solidarity with two
top party leaders.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will appear in the trial court here on
December 19 in connection with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's
complaint in the National Herald case.
The Delhi High Court this month dismissed a plea of the Gandhis to quash
the summons issued to them for personal appearance by a trial court in the
case.
The trial court later asked them to appear before it on December 19.
On June 26 last year, 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
Indian Ltd., “a firm in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each own a 38
percent stake .”
D e c 1 9 – S o n i a , R a h u l g r a n t e db
ail
- next appearance on Feb2
0
Figure 16. Sonia, Rahul granted bail, next appereance on Feb 20
President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi on
C ongress
Saturday appeared in a trial court here in the National Herald case filed by
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and were granted unconditional
bail.
Outside, the party engaged in a political battle, attacking Prime Minister
Narendra Modi for “targeting his opponents” and terming Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy his “stooge.”
The top two Congress leaders appeared at 3PM before Metropolitan
Magistrate Loveleen in the Patiala House courts in the case filed by Dr.
Swamy.
The party rallied behind its leaders with former Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and party's leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun
Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad present in the court. Sonia Gandhi's
daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also there.
Congress workers had been thronging the party's central office on 24,
Akbar Road since morning to express solidarity with the leaders. They later
expressed their joy at the two top party leaders getting bail.
Shortly after returning from the court, both the Gandhis accused Modi of
seeking to bend his opponents and said they were not afraid and will fight
back. The BJP hit back, terming the Congress as closely linked with
“corruption.”
Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of the Congress leaders, told reporters
that the court rejected Swamy's plea to impose restrictions on the travel
abroad of Congress leaders.
“We moved an application on behalf of all the accused for grant of bail. The
court was kind enough to grant bail without conditions except for furnishing
security in the sum of Rs. 50,000 on behalf of each of the accused which
were furnished,” he told reporters after the hearing.
The trial court also granted bail to Congress treasurer Motilal Vora,
Gandhis' family friend Suman Dubey and another party leader Oscar
Fernandes who also appeared before it.
Congress leader A.K. Antony gave surety for Sonia Gandhi while Priyanka
Gandhi gave surety for her brother Rahul Gandhi.
Another accused Sam Pitroda, a former chairman of the National
Innovation Council was granted exemption from personal appearance after
he moved a plea for the same.
The court fixed the next date of hearing for February 20 at 2PM.
The Delhi High Court this month dismissed the Gandhis' plea to quash the
summons issued to them by the trial court on June 26, on Swamy's
complaint about “cheating” in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd.,
which published the National Herald newspaper, by Young Indian Ltd., “a
firm in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each own a 38 percent stake.”
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi disembarked a few metres before the court
premises and walked inside amid tight security.
Swamy, the lone petitioner, later described the scene inside. “When the
Gandhis entered, they were made to stand in a corner where the accused are
supposed to be. They were not allowed to sit except Vora,” he said.
Sonia Gandhi later said she appeared before the court with a clean heart as a
law-abiding citizen should do. “The laws of the land apply to everyone
without fear or favour. I do not have slightest doubt that the truth will come
out,” she said, and made a reference to her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi
who had fought cases against her and returned to power in 1980.
She said the “present Central Government is deliberately targeting its
political opponents and misusing central agencies.”
“No one among us is going to be afraid. Our fight against them will
continue. Our struggle to preserve our ideals and for the interest of the poor
will continue,” she said.
Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of making false accusations
against Modi's opponents to bend them. “He wants a Congress-free India.
We won't let that happen.”
Earlier, Azad accused Modi of backing Swamy in his complaint, while
party colleague Randeep Singh Surjewala termed Swamy “a stooge” of
Modi.
Swamy rubbished the allegations, while BJP leader Muqtar Abbas Naqvi
said his party had nothing to do with the case.
“National Herald is yours. Corruption is yours. BJP has nothing to do with
all
this,”
he
told
the
media.
Dec 22 – Congress Party in the
dock
Figure 17. Congress Party in the dock
he Congress finds itself in the dock over a damning revelation that
Young Indian, the controversial company floated by Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi to acquire National Herald newspaper firm took ₹1 crore
($154,000) loan from a dubious Kolkata-based company to start its
operations in the end of 2010 [5] . The Income Tax department’s Kolkata
unit’s probe in connection with the National Herald case found that ₹1 crore
($154,000) loan originated from a company called Dotex Merchandise
Private Limited. This company, linked to famous RPG Group, acted as a
shell company, and was promoted by a money launderer Uday Shankar
Mahawar.
T
According to the Income Tax Department, during the interrogation,
Mahawar confessed that he was only “entry operator” for this little-known
firm. The term ‘entry operator’ in Income Tax refers to the shell company
owners engaged in floating companies and money laundering.
“During the course of post Survey investigation Uday Shankar Mahawar
voluntarily disclosed and offered to tax an additional income of ₹3 crores
($462,000) over and above his regular income... In his statement Uday
Shankar Mahawar stated that he is an entry operator, and he forms
companies to provide accommodation entry in the form of share capital,
bogus billing etc.
“He had formed more than 300 companies and sold them to various
beneficiaries after raising bogus share capital. It appears that as of now
most of the companies have been sold and the real funds have been infused
in these companies. So, the current directors/ shareholders of these
companies are the real beneficiaries. Uday Shankar Mahawar has provided
bogus accommodation of share capital to various beneficiaries to the tune of
Rs.500 crores,” said IT headquarters alert issued to its units across the
country dated December 4, 2014.
Reacting to the media reports on the links with money launders of Kolkata,
the RPG Group said that they did no wrong. The company Dotex
Mercandize Private Limited, floated by Mahawar, which donated ₹1 crore
($154,000) is now linked with RPG Group. RPG Group’s senior executives
Sunil Bhandari and Sunil Kumar Sanganeria are the current Directors of
this controversial company. Bhandari is currently Director of more than 20
companies including RPG Group’s major such as including Spencer
International Hotels Limited and Duncan Bros & Co Ltd.
In November 2012, Sonia Gandhi’s archrival BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy exposed this deal and went to trial court.
Sanganeria is also Director of several companies including RPG Groups’
major companies like Kolkata Metro Networks Limited and Music World
Retail Limited. Interestingly Dotex Merchandize’s email id given in official
documents are of RPG Group’s email id - rpsg.secretarial@rp-sg.in
Background: The Young Indian was floated by Sonia and Rahul with 38%
stake each at the end of 2010. Congress Treasurer Motilal Vora and the
party General Secretary Oscar Fernadez owned 12% shares in the company.
Gandhi family loyalists Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda are also Directors
of this company.
Within weeks of its formation, the Young Indian declared that they had
taken over the ₹90 crores ($13.83 million) worth debt of Associated Journal
Limited (AJL), the publishers of the defunct National Herald newspaper.
The AJL got ₹90 crores ($13.83 million) loan from Congress party. The
move by the Young Indian to take over Rs.90 cr debts of AJL, which it
owed to the Congress, at a paltry sum of ₹50 lakhs ($77,000) created the
entire controversy.
Another dubious action by the AJL was to allot fresh 9 lakh shares to
Young Indian towards this debt also has kicked up a row. Through this
dubious share allotment, Young Indian acquired 99.1% ownership in the
AJL.
It must be noted Motilal Vora is Director of the Young Indian as well as
Chairman and managing director of the AJL and treasurer of the Congress
party.
AJL was a public limited company floated in 1937 by Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru and other leaders. After independence, the AJL got lands from
several governments across India for publishing newspaper. The lands in
New Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Bhopal, Indore, Panchkula are currently
valued at around Rs.5000 crores and Young Indian is now the custodian of
these huge assets.
In November 2012, Sonia Gandhi’s archrival BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy exposed this deal and went to trial court. The Metropolitan
Magistrate, after 18-month long arguments issued summons to the Congress
heavy weights in June 2014. Currently the trial court’s order is challenged
in Delhi High Court for the past 15 months. The case shuttled between three
judges and currently back to the second Judge Justice Sunil Gaur. Next
hearing on this politically sensitive case is scheduled on November 6.
NOTE:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 US Dollar = 65.08 Rupees.
Dec 23 – Sai Prasad Society
constructed to accommodate
senior Congress leaders and
bureaucrats on land adjacent to
NHplot
Figure 18. Saiprasad Society constructed on the land adjucent to the National Herald plot
Crushed hopes of Mumbaikars by coming up on
land required for constructing the 7th
Corridor Railway line linking Kurla with
Bandra
T
he plot belonging to National Herald in Mumbai which continues to
torment the Congress Party has infamous neighbours as well. A Society
named Sai Prasad which contains names of Senior Congress leaders like
Kripashankar Singh and senior bureaucrats like the current Chief Secretary
Swadheen Kshatriya was constructed on a plot adjoining the National
Herald plot that originally belonged to the National Herald. This section of
the plot was reserved to construct the necessary 7th Corridor connecting the
Kurla Railway station on the Central Railway with Bandra Railway Station
on the Western Railway through the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) which if
constructed could have provided a cheaper and faster travel mode to the
BKC. The construction of Saiprasad society dashed the hopes of
Mumbaikars travelling between the Central & Western Railway of a
cheaper connectivity and travel mode. This information was provided to
RTI Activist Anil Galgali.
Saiprasad Cooperative Society had applied for allotment of plot next to the
Provident Fund building on 12th April 2000. A plot admeasuring 6518.7 sq
mtrs situated in Survey no 341 and CTS No 608/1 & 608/2 had an un
allotted portion of only 1016.2 sq mtrs. Almost 1664.4 sq mtrs of land was
reserved for the 7th corridor Bandra - Kurla Rail link. To merge and collect
both the un allotted plots the layout of National Herald was modified
without disturbing its size of 3479.26 sq mtrs. After change of the layout,
1340.3 sq mtrs of the total collected land of 2680.6 sq mtrs was alloted to
Saiprasad society. Later, an additional 63.08 sq mtr of the land was allotted
to Saiprasad taking its total allotment to 1403.35 sq mtrs. Saiprasad Society
paid the Govt Rs.58 Lakhs 79 Thousand 114 as cost of the land between
2003 to 2007 costing a measly Rs.4190 per sq mtr to the society, whose
members were prominent politicians and senior bureaucrats. The ready
reckoner rates at that time for the location was Rs.43,000 per sq mtr[6] .
New 'Adarsh'
Then Guardian Minister Kripashankar Singh misused his position as
Guardian Minister for Mumbai suburbs to get the land allotted to Saiprasad
1
. The Collector of Mumbai Suburbs Shri C S Sangitrao's daughter and
brother along with the Resident Dy Collector Milind Shambarkar, Private
Secretary to CM Dr. Avinash Dhakne, were also beneficiaries of the
allotment as they procured flats in the constructed society. The Current
Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya, Information Commissioner Ajitkumar
Jain, Ex Municipal Commissioner and accused in Adarsh Scam Jairaj
Phatak, Kishore Gajbhiye, Himanshu Roy, Bipinkumar Singh, Hemant
Kothikar, H K Javale, Rajkumar Kharatmol, were also beneficiaries along
with Rucha Mistry, daughter of C S Sangitrao and his brother also C S
Sangitrao.
A peon also gets 'Lottery'
There are also indications of Benami property in Saiprasad, as a peon
working in a school at Dhule, Abhimanyu Daga Bhosale too has a flat in his
name. His annual income is just Rs 55,000. One Surendra Pratap Singh,
Brother-In-Law of Kripashankar Singh and a vegetable vendor in Navi
Mumbai Ramashankar Shivmanohar Pandey also have a flat. Their flats
were originally allotted to M M Mathew and Parvatidevi Lalbahadur Singh.
The flat allotted to Adv Ujjwal Nikam was transferred to H K Jawale. The
chief Promoter of the Society Adv Rajiv Chavan, also a Congress leader too
holds a flat.
RTI Activist Anil Galgali had written a letter 5 years back to the then Chief
Minister 'Mr Clean' Prithviraj Chavan on 31st December 2010, but no
action was taken on the letter. The whole issue likens to the Adarsh scam
and is even more graver as people in power that got flats in Adarsh
similarly got flats allotted for themselves in Saiprasad. But greater role was
played in Saiprasad as the whole plot was realigned to get the plot for
Saiprasad. The Hunger of the Politicians and the Senior Bureaucrats
swallowed the hopes of Mumbaikars for having the 7th corridor
connectivity of Kurla to Bandra, alleged Anil Galgali. Anil Galgali in a
letter addressed to CM Devendra Fadnavis has demanded that the
roadblocks be cleared for the 7th Corridor and the possession of Saiprasad
be taken and shifted to clear the way for the development of 7th corridor as
is the practice undertaken in different development projects.
2016
Jan 03 – Subramanian Swamy
seeks to force ED to reveal its
standinNHcase
Figure 19. Dr. Swamy seeks to force ED to reveal its stand in NH case
n a move that would force the Modi government to reveal its stand on the
I National
Herald (NH) case, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has
approached the trial court, seeking issuance of directive to the Centre to
submit the findings of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe in the
scandal that has big ramification for the Congress party and its top leaders
including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He court will hear the matter on
January 11.
Swamy, who is a complainant in this case, has also asked the court to
summon documents of the Delhi Development Authority in this case. The
BJP and senior ministers of the Modi government have all along tried to
maintain a ‘hands off’ approach from the Swamy complaints. Top ministers
of the Modi government have claimed that the ED and Income tax
department have so far not acted against the Gandhis in the NH Case and
tried to blunt the edge of the Opposition party charge that the Modi regime
was pursuing vendetta politics.
Last month, speaking at the Aaj Tak Agenda programme, Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley had said that his government had taken no action in this case.
“Action has so far not been taken. ED has not issued any notice. Tax
authorities have not passed any assessment order ,” he said, adding, “The
government will wait for the outcome of court proceedings. If there is a tax
angle, then taxation authorities will ask questions for which there is a due
process.”
Swamy’s plea before the court to summon documents of ED in this case
will force the probe agency to reveal the progress it has done so far in this
case. In a way, it will also be testimony of the view taken by the Modi
government in pursuing this case. In the past, Swamy alleged that the
former Director of ED Rajan Katoch was working at the behest of the
Congress party (he is related to Digvijay Singh of Congress) and trying to
suppress the investigation in the case. After Swamy wrote to the PM to
replace Katoch last August, the Government replaced Katoch with Karnal
Singh the very next day and reopened the NH Case.
In his first letter to PM (dated August 11, 2015), Swamy said “the present
director seems to have no interest in pursuing any matter connected with
the Congress Party, perhaps, due to the fact that he is a close relative of
Digvijay Singh, who is General Secretary of the Congress party .”
Figure 20. Dr. Swamy's letter to PM on Aug 11
Further, Swamy said he had provided Katoch “a detailed report of moneylaundering carried out by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and four others in
the acquisition of National Herald's publishing company.” Swamy also
alleged that “an invisible hand” was stopping the ED from launching an
investigation.
In his second letter to Modi dated August 12, Swamy once again provided
details of the NH case and accused the ED of not registering a case of
money laundering against Rahul and Sonia. Following this letter, Katoch
was removed [7] .
Figure 21. Swamy ltr to PM Aug-12 Page 1
On August 26, Katoch’s successor Karnal Singh, reversed an order by his
predecessor and issued a circular clarifying that the ED can probe a case
even in the absence of a predicate offence such as an FIR by the police or
any other investigating agency if the court has taken cognizance of a
complaint.
Last year, Swamy also demanded that the Serious Frauds Investigation
Office (SFIO) should be asked to probe the NH case in view of allegations
by some shareholders of Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) that they were not
consulted before the company’s equity was transferred to Young Indian
Private Ltd.
Expect
to see a flurry of activity between now and February 20th from the
Government
on
this
ca
se.
Figure 23. Swamy ltr to PM Aug-12 Page 2
Jan 03 – Ex-employees of NH to
protest in Lucknow
Figure 24. Ex-Lucknow employees to protest
ormer employees of Associated Journals Ltd., publishers of the now
defunct National Herald, Navjivan and Qaumi Awaz, on Saturday said
they would stage a sit-in demonstration at the office gate here from
January 18 to 21 against the “step-motherly treatment” meted out to them
by the management.
F
Before the sit-in, a general body meeting of the employees will be held at
the office gate on January 16. This was decided at a meeting of the former
employees union presided over by its president Kazim Hussain on Saturday.
In a statement issued by union general secretary Dilip Sinha, the Lucknow
employees are demanding payment by the same formula that was applied
for payment to their counterpart in Delhi which was promised by the
management at the time of final payment to them in January 1999.
Besides, the registered office of the company in Lucknow was closed in
1999, earlier than the branch office in Delhi which stopped publication of
the paper in 2008, and the Lucknow employees are also demanding wages
for this period.
Sinha said the meeting also demanded re-launch of the three newspapers
and urged the chairman of Associated Journals Ltd. to hold a meeting with
the union on their demands before the meeting of shareholders slated for
January 21.
Jan 29 – 4 things I would do if
I were the Finance Minister:
D r. S w a m y
Figure 25. 4 things I would do if I were the Finance Minister - Dr. Swamy
a wide ranging interview with ETV Rajasthan, in the program AamneI nSaamne
with host Dr. Anita Hada Sangwan, Dr. Subramanian Swamy
was his erudite self as he listed four things that he would do, if he were to
be the Finance Minister:
Abolish Personal Income Tax - To boost India's economy, the government
should do something that immediately has a positive effect on people's
mindset and that would be the step of abolishing Personal Income Tax. The
fiscal fallout of this can be managed in many ways, including auction of
Coal mining, Telecommunications Spectrum etc.
Simplify Excise Duties - There are about 2788 commodities on which
Excise duties are levied today. Of these, the government gets 90% of the
revenue from the top 21. Therefore, simplify the Excise duties, remove the
2767 items and in the remaining 21, make it standard for each commodity
(i. e. do not have sub-classification e. g. Fiber/ Cotton/ Rayon etc.)
Enable Agriculture in India - India is one of the cheapest producers of
Agriculture based products. The Government should encourage this sector
by making it easy for farmers to store/ ship/ process goods they make. India
is one of the few countries in the world that allows agricultural production
year-round and the government should take steps to ensure that this is
enabled to the fullest extent. It may need India to engage with the rest of the
World in WTO by rationalizing tariffs etc.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - Allow FDI only in those projects that
come with technical know how. Retailers such as Walmart, if allowed, will
obliterate the small Mom and Pop stores in the country because of the lower
interest rate that they enjoy in the United States.
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a definite plan in his mind
in terms of how he wants to approach India-Pakistan relations and that the
country should give him room to execute it rather than scrutinizing and
second guessing his every move. Answering to a question as to whether he
was disappointed about not being a part of the Cabinet, he replied that he
neither asked for it nor wanted it and therefore there is no question of being
disappointed.
Dr. Swamy said that for the year 2016, his Trishul of initiatives will be Ram
Mandir, National Herald Case [8] and Sunanda Pushkar [9] .
On the issue of Rahul Gandhi's British citizenship issue [10] , he stated that
Rahul Gandhi himself has stated his British Citizenship in his filings (he
was the Company Secretary) and therefore knew fully well what he was
doing.
Feb 05 – Why would RaGa, SoGa
appeal the HC verdict in
Supreme Court?
Figure 26. Why would RaGa, SoGa appeal the HC verdict in Supreme Court?
n the National Herald case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, on
Thursday Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul
Gandhi moved the Supreme Court demanding the Delhi High Court order
rejecting their plea against their summoning by a trial court.
I
Besides challenging the high court's December 7, 2015 order, both Sonia
and Rahul Gandhi have sought the stay of the proceedings before the trial
court till their plea was decided by the top court and the grant of exemption
from personal appearance before the lower court.
“Stay the proceedings of complaint case under sections 403, 406, 420 and
120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, pending in the court of the
metropolitan magistrate, till the disposal of the present SLP ,” read the
prayer in the petition by Sonia Gandhi.
Both the Gandhis have sought exemption from personal appearance before
the trial court but said that they would appear before the trial court as and
when “desired by the magistrate in accordance with law .”
Apart from the Gandhis, accused Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey have also
moved the apex court against the high court order.
The Congress leaders have also challenged the high court order on the
grounds of it going into the merits of the case and making adverse
observations.
In her petition, Sonia Gandhi says that on “one hand, the high court holds
that the actions of the accused 'smacks of criminality', and in the same
breath goes on to hold that 'what species of criminal offence’ is made out is
not required to be seen at this initial stage .”
The approach “is untenable in law. It is submitted that 'criminality' cannot
be divorced from the offences prescribed under the Penal Code. If the
ingredients of the offences alleged are not at all made out even prima facie,
there cannot be any 'criminality'“, she said in her plea.
On the question of locus of Swamy in the matter, the Congress leader has
pointed out that “interestingly, a single judge (of the high court) himself
raised the question of locus standi. Even before the petitioners went ahead
with their arguments, the complainant was asked to assist in the matter qua
the issue of locus standi.”
The high court had rejected the plea of Gandhis, as well as Congress
treasurer Motilal Vora, Gandhi family friend Dubey and party leader Oscar
Fernandes against the summons issued by the trial court on June 26, 2015
on Swamy's complaint alleging “cheating” in the acquisition of Associated
Journals Ltd. (AJL) by Young Indian Ltd. (YIL) - “a firm in which Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi each own a 38 percent stake.”
Swamy had claimed that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, as majority
shareholders of YIL, benefited from the acquisition of AJL.
He had alleged that AJL had received an interest-free loan of Rs.90.25
crores ($13.33 Million) from the Congress and that the party transferred the
debt to YIL for Rs.50 lakhs.
At the time, AJL, which had Vora as its chairman, claimed that it could not
repay the loan and agreed to transfer the company and its assets to YIL.
The Congress, while challenging the summons before the high court, had
contended that Swamy was a political opponent, and the criminal
proceedings were initiated only with an intent to secure an oblique political
objective. They had contended that the complaint made by Swamy against
them was only “allegations without any supporting proof.”
Note:
The conversion rate used in this article is 1 US Dollar = 67.66 Rupees.
Feb 12 – Supreme Court likely
tohearSonia,Rahulpleain
Herald case on Friday
Figure 27. Supreme Court likely to hear Sonia, Rahul
n what could turn out to be a significant development, the Supreme Court
of India is likely to hear Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President
Rahul Gandhi and others' petition challenging the Delhi High Court order
that rejected their plea against their summoning by a trial court here in the
National Herald case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
I
This is expected to be a bench hearing, with Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar
and Justice C. Nagappan likely to hear the matter. In a detailed FAQ posted
on the party web site 1 , Congress tried to downplay this case as an internal
matter as National Herald was started by Congress Party in the thirties.
Besides challenging the high court order of December 7, 2015, both the
Gandhis have sought the stay of the proceedings before the trial court till
their plea was decided by the top court and grant of exemption from
personal appearance before the lower court.
However, they have said that they would appear before the trial court as and
when “desired by the magistrate in accordance with law .”
The Congress leaders have also challenged the Delhi High Court order on
the grounds of its going into the merits of the case and making adverse
observations. Sonia Gandhi, in her petition, has said that on “one hand, high
court holds that the actions of the accused 'smacks of criminality', and in
the same breath, goes on to hold that 'what species of criminal offence’ is
made out is not required to be seen at this initial stage ” [11] .
The approach of the high court “is untenable in law. It is submitted that
'criminality' cannot be divorced from the offences prescribed under the
Penal Code. If the ingredients of the offences alleged are not at all made out
even prima facie, there cannot be any 'criminality'“, she said in her plea.
On the question of locus of Swamy in agitating the matter, the Congress
chief noted that “interestingly, a single judge (of the high court) himself
raised the question of locus standi. Even before the petitioners went ahead
with their arguments, the complainant was asked to assist in the matter qua
the issue of locus standi.”
Summons had been issued by the trial court on June 26, 2015 on Swamy's
complaint alleging “cheating” in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd.
(AJL) by Young Indian Ltd. (YIL) - “a firm in which Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi each own a 38 percent stake.”
Swamy had claimed that the Gandhis, as majority shareholders of YIL,
benefited from the acquisition of AJL.
He had alleged that AJL had received an interest-free loan of Rs.90.25
crores from the Congress and that the party transferred the debt to YIL for
Rs.50 lakhs.
At the time, AJL, which had Vora as its chairman, claimed that it could not
repay the loan and agreed to transfer the company and its assets to YIL.
The Congress, while challenging the summons before the high court, had
contended that Swamy was a political opponent, and the criminal
proceedings were initiated only with an intent to secure an oblique political
objective. They had contended that the complaint made by Swamy against
them was only “allegations without any supporting proof.”
Feb 13 – Supreme Court orders
Gandhis back to Patiala house
for the NH-case
Figure 28. Supreme Court orders Gandhis back to Magistrate Court
efusing to set aside the Delhi High Court's 26-page dismissal order on
December 7, 2015 in the National Herald case, the Supreme Court on
Friday directed Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul
Gandhi and others to appear before the Magistrate in the Patiala Court
complex. Making it clear that they were not going to reverse the high court
order, Justice Khehar said that their interference would be limited to the
adverse inferences and conclusions by the high court.
R
A bench of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice C. Nagappan also
exempted the Gandhis and others from personal appearances, noting that
their presence in the trial court would cause more “inconvenience, than
convenience.” However, it added that the trial court was free to have their
presence as and when needed.
“When people of such prominence are there, they are not going to run away.
If on a particular occasion when you need them, you can call for them.
There will be more chaos with these people going to the court than not
going to the court ,” the court told BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, the
complainant, as he said that power to grant exemption was vested in the
magistrate.
As Swamy tried to read an earlier apex court ruling in support, Justice
Khehar said that one option was that they ask the Gandhis and others to
make an application for exemption from personal appearances and direct
the magistrate to grant it or do it themselves.
In yet another relief to the Gandhis, the court permitted them to raise all the
issues, including the locus of Swamy, who has initiated the criminal
proceedings.
“Whatever you want to say, you say at the time of the framing of the charges
,” the court said as senior counsel Kapil Sibal sought to assail
maintainability of Swamy's complaint and his locus.
“We are not happy with what the High Court judge has said. That is the
limited interference (of expunging them) we can do.”
“So far as determination rendered by the High Court in rejecting the prayer
for quashing of the proceedings against the petitioners are concerned, we
find no justification in intervening with the order.”
“On factual position in paragraph 31 and conclusion in paragraph 39 of the
High Court judgment, we are of the view that it will not be open (for trial)
court recording any findings based on conclusions and same has to be
decided after recording of the evidence. So, paragraph 31 and paragraph 39
are expunged,” the court said.
The High Court in paragraph 31, while holding that a political party was
free to tap other avenues to augment its income, however said that the
allegations against the Congress office bearers are that of “siphoning off the
party funds in a clandestine manner.”
Questioning the propriety of the party “extending interest free loans to a
separate legal entity i. e. AJL“, it had said that “what crops up in the mind
of a prudent person is as to where was the need of extending interest free
loans to a public limited company engaged in a commercial venture of
publishing newspapers.”
In paragraph 39, it had said: “After having considered the entire case in its
proper perspective, this court finds no hesitation to put it on record that the
modus operandi adopted by petitioners in taking control of AJL via special
purpose vehicle i.e. YI, particularly, when the main persons in Congress
party, AJL and YI are the same, evidences a criminal intent.”
“Whether it is cheating, criminal misappropriation or criminal breach of
trust is not required to be spelt out at this nascent stage ,” it said.
Directing Gandhis and others to appear before the trial court, the high court
had said it could not be argued that no case for their summoning has been
made out, and the “questionable conduct” of petitioners needs to be
properly examined at the charge stage to find out the truth and so, these
criminal proceedings cannot be thwarted at this initial stage.
F e b 2 3 – R a G a ’s B r i t i s h B a n k
account revealed
Figure 29. Rahul Gandhis British Bank account details revealed
Rahul Gandhi's British Bank account in
Barclay's Bank revealed
ahul Gandhi must be cringing every time Subramanian Swamy makes a
trip overseas! Details of his Bank account in England tumbled out along
with the revelations that both his “pseudonym” Raul Vinci (allegedly
used for security purposes) and his real name Rahul Gandhi reside at 2
Frognal Way, London NW3 6XE. We have covered this in the past about
RaGa's company Backops Limited [12] .
R
Rahul Gandhi's British nationality and company details and allegations that
he may have received kickbacks in Defence deals has been extensively
documented in this site and elsewhere [13] . Here is a detailed list on where
all things Rahul Gandhi stand as of now:
British Nationality of Rahul Gandhi - This issue is now currently in
Ethics Committee in Lok Sabha. L K Advani is the Chairman [14] . The
findings are still awaited. In a routinely used strategy, an advocate M L
Sharma, filed a sloppy Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition on this in the
Supreme Court, which was rejected [15] . Congress promptly claimed that
because of this, there was no merit in the allegations.
Scorpene submarine deal - Subramanian Swamy had alleged that Rahul
Gandhi's company received kickbacks in the Scorpene Deal signed by India
with the French Company DCNS. There have been no updates on this
except for the Navy buying three more Scorpene submarines [16] .
National Herald case, Money Laundering - In August 2014, it was
announced that ED would be probing the case from a Money Laundering
angle. The findings are still awaited [17] .
It is easily seen that Mr. Gandhi's troubles are only mounting by the day.
With a new session starting, one can expect Congress to do more of the
same, i. e. stall proceedings. It would be interesting to see how the other
Opposition parties respond.
Coming back to Rahul Gandhi's British Bank account, a letter has been sent
to Shri Karnal Singh, Director of Enforcement Directorate by Subramanian
Swamy furnishing all the details and the salient pages are shown below:
Figure 30. Page 1 of letter by Swamy to Karnal Singh, Dir ED
Figure 31. Page 2 of letter by Swamy to Karnal Singh, Dir ED
Figure 32. Details of Rahul Gandhi's account at Barclay's Bank
Mar 22 – Peon gets his “15
minutes fame”
Figure 33. Congress ordered to submit accounts for 2010-11
he courtroom in Patiala House under Justice Lovleen was jampacked. A
Treluctant
Congress asked for more time to release its account books for
the year 2010-2011. Justice Loveleen then set Friday, April 8 to get
Congress to submit its yearly accounts books during the scam interval of
2010-2011 in the National Herald case (NHCase).
The court also asked Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publisher of National
Herald, to produce its accounts for the above-mentioned period.
Metropolitan Lovleen's strict instructions came after the battery of lawyers
representing the Congress party requested the court for more time to check
out the March 11 order for making the accounts.
Congress was supposed to have submitted the documents today. At onepoint, the attorneys even said that there was only a peon in the AICC office
who had obtained it and the summons was received by them just on
Saturday. Senior lawyers R S Cheema, Ramesh Gupta and Badar Mahmood
argued saying, “Summons was not clear as to whether it was for 2010, 2011
or for both.” There was no senior leader at that stage to refer it to, the
lawyers said, even as they produced the peon as evidence to vindicate their
state. The Peon got his “15 minutes of fame.”
Hearing this discussion, plaintiff Subramanian Swamy quipped that the
AICC office was a “haunted house” and that these were all smart
justifications to delay the process. He urged the magistrate to provide stern
directions.
The lawyers also contended that Swamy had already shown AJL's balance
sheets and there is certainly no demand to re-create them again. Lawyers
also showed the magistrate printouts of some tweets of Swamy.
“We are being taken for a ride. The records summoned are already on the
record of the court. It's just for the objective of marketing that the
complainant has filed this charge as he has been 'tweeting' concerning this
circumstance from his social network account Twitter,” stated R S Cheema.
Swamy countered that the magistrate has requested for the account books of
AJL throughout the scam period of 2010-11 and that the balance sheets
should be made available in the public domain. He said that Registrar of
Business authorities was summoned earlier to verify who the directors in
AJL were throughout the applicable period rather than for the point of just
checking the balance sheets.
Meanwhile, the Income Tax department submitted files in a sealed cover.
Another five Government departments such as Urban Development
Ministry and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have previously submitted
the files a week ago.
Motilal Vora, the AICC treasurer and an accused in the case, has already
challenged the magistrate’s order summoning Government documents from
six departments, with the next hearing in the case scheduled on April 4 in
the Delhi High Court. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vicepresident Rahul Gandhi have also filed a petition in this regard before the
magistrate for seeking a revision of the order.
In an earlier hearing, the magistrate decided to put the Government
documents in the sealed cover considering the case being heard in the High
Court. Swamy on Monday argued that as there was no stay from the High
Court, the sealed cover may be opened, which was objected to by the
Congress lawyers.
Others weigh in on today's events in Patiala
Court in the NHCase
Noted political commentator, Swaminathan Gurumurthy observed
caustically that there were no records of Congress ever having transferred
the 90 crores to AJL - rather these were Black money transactions of
Motilal Vora!
Figure 34. S Gurumurthy tweets on 90 crores P-1
Figure 35. S Gurumurthy tweets on 90 crores P-2
So where does this case go from here? Whatever accounts they produce
before the court must match other Government department findings. One
can feel the noose gradually tightening around Congress's neck as they try
to justify their actions [18] . NHCase is fast becoming a train wreck as it
stumbles towards its logical conclusion. The best one-liner that comes to
mind about this case is of how Motilal Vora, the treasurer of Young Indian,
asks through AJL whose treasurer is Motilal Vora, of Congress whose
treasurer too is Vora (!), a loan of 90 crores.
It will be interesting to see the denouement of this “Vora! Vora! Vora!” case.
In this video, Subramanian Swamy details the entire episode of National
Herald [19] .
Apr 19 – Delhi HC reserves
judgment
Figure 36. Delhi HC reserves judgment
Lawyers try to slow down #NHCase, appealing
to Delhi High Court to deny access to files
elhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on pleas filed by
Congress leaders against the trial court order summoning files from
Ministries of Finance and Corporate Matters, other agencies along with
the balance sheet of the party for 2010-2011 in the National Herald case. It
is expected that this judment will be out before May 5th, when the trial
D
resumes in the Patiala Court.
“Order allowed,” Justice P S Teji said following the counsel appearing for
petitioners concluded their rebuttal arguments in the problem.
Swamy has accused them of supposedly conspiring to deceive and
misappropriate funds by just paying Rs.50 lakhs ($75,000) where Young
Indian (YI) obtained the right to recoup Rs.90.25 crores ($13.6 million)
which Associated Journals Pvt Ltd (AJL) owed to the Congress party. All
the accused have denied the allegations levelled against them by Swamy.
Through the hearing today, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi,
appearing for Fernandes, told the court that there were “no reasons or
items” in the application filed by Swamy in which he had sought
summoning of these records. He asserted that there was “no application of
mind” by the trial judge while enabling the plea along with the high court
was entitled to rescind the order [20] . “This court has the right to revoke the
order. This order is fit for reversal,” he said.
Senior advocate R S Cheema, who also appeared for one of the petitioners,
claimed the orders passed by the trial court were “non-speaking” and
therefore can't be sustained. “Courts can summon the documents whenever
they are relevant.
“These documents could be mis-utilised for other purposes. Do not let this
litigation be a launch pad for other things,” Cheema said while urging the
court to set aside the orders passed by the trial court. Speculation is rife that
the money supposedly given by Congress may not have originated from the
party. For more on this, refer to the tweets of S Gurumurthy on this case [21]
.
Swamy had earlier contended that the high court should dismiss these pleas
seeking stay on both trial court's conclusion, like the one summoning the
2010-11 balance sheet of the Indian National Congress (INC) in relation to
the case.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 66.53 Rupees.
Jun 01 – India - Global
E c o n o m i c P o w e r, D r. S w a m y c a n
show the way...
Figure 37. Dr. Swamy can show the way...
Swamy is the most sought & heard leaders in India today; his lectures
D r.these
days are jam packed with enthusiastic youth, women, and others
attending in huge numbers. His popularity is growing tremendously
with his Nation First, India First initiative. The call to take pride with our
Culture, tradition, heritage have struck a chord with the youth of the nation
and they are flocking to hear him and has resulted in him being the most
viewed and liked leader on the net.
Dr. Swamy is a firm believer that Economic development must be based not
only on material output and economic services but also on ancient Hindu
spiritual values. These values are codified as Sanatana Dharma. The
western world is studying our ancient scripture and decoding it to enhance
their overall knowledge.
During his initial days (early 70s’) in Indian politics, when Dr. Swamy
called for denouncing the Soviet Union economic model and propagated an
open market economy & Swadeshi Plan, the then PM Indira Gandhi called
it ‘dangerous’ because “it is much like a Santa Claus.” Much Later, in 1991
Dr. Swamy's blueprint helped PM PV Narasimha Rao implement Economic
reforms and opened up the Indian markets.
Dr. Swamy strongly advocates Integral Humanism, among the guiding
precepts of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Economic policy presented by Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyaya.
Referred to as the One-Man Army, he is a maverick, and his precisely
guided missiles are always on target. He has the distinction of ousting two
Governments at the centre - one which was the Indira Gandhi goovrtnmrnt,
in 1977, which was dictatorial, Anti-democratic and declared Emergency
and curbed fundamental rights. He went underground and fought for
restoring Democracy. Later, most recently in 2014, he is credited with
exposing the UPA Regime’s corruption with his legal acumen and the ruling
party lost the election.
1. Daring act during Emergency in 1975 : The then Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi had imposed a state of Emergency in
India in the mid-1975. Arrest warrants were issued against
many including Swamy. However, he managed to escape from
India and flew to Colombo and onward to United States of
America. Who would dare to step-in to the Parliament on a
working day, if he has an arrest warrant against his name? Well,
Dr. Subramanian Swamy did just that. On 10th August 1976 it
took everyone by surprise in the House and once again,
donning the disguise of a Sardar (Sikh) he managed to flee
India.
2. Access to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra : It is not a hidden fact
that Swamy’s relations with officials on foreign land have been
rock-solid despite drawing criticism within the country. It was
Swamy’s effort in 1981 that he managed for the Hindu
devotees to get an access for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. His
meeting with the then China’s paramount leader Deng
Xiaoping normalized the issue, and the pilgrimage route was
re-opened.
3. Brainchild of Economic reforms in 1991 : Dr. Subramanian
Swamy was a member of Planning Commission and Union
minister of Commerce, Law and Justice during the period of
1990-91. Not many know that the blueprint of the landmark
economic reforms was prepared by Swamy and not Manmohan
Singh. Swamy prepared it under the prime ministership of
Chandra Shekhar Singh, but Manmohan Singh only carried it
out as a Finance Minister during PV Narasimha Rao’s prime
ministership. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has
acknowledged Dr. Swamy ‘s contribution in preparing the
Economic blueprint for implementation.
4. The drama by Sonia Gandhi sacrificing PM’s post – busted!
It was widely propagated by a section of media that Sonia
Gandhi had sacrificed the post of Prime Minister, but it was not
the truth. Congress President Sonia President after winning the
2004 Lok Sabha Elections had put forward her name to
President APJ Abdul Kalam, to be the next Prime Minister of
India, with a letter of support signed by the party MP’s. But it
was Subramanian Swamy’s letter to President that made Kalam
persuade Sonia Gandhi to not make her a Prime Minister.
However, the former President has refuted the claims, but
Swamy has challenged the former President’s version.
5. Electronic Voting Machines’ (EVM) fraud : Dr. Subramanian
Swamy demanded an independent committee should be
appointed to investigate the authenticity and security of EVMs
as they are tamper prone. Swamy gave the examples of how the
United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and
Netherlands have abandoned the method and have resorted to
paper-ballot system. It was because of Swamy’s efforts that
Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was introduced in
2014 Lok Sabha Elections.
6. Exposing the 2G Scam : Everyone knows that the 2G Scam
under UPA-regime caused a loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crores to the
national exchequer as per a CAG report. Dr. Subramanian
Swamy was the first person to write to PMManmohan Singh
seeking permission to prosecute the then Telecom Minister A.
Raja and asked the CBI to come out with a detailed report on
the matter. Manmohan Singh paid no heed to it and
consequently Swamy had to file a case himself in the Supreme
Court. And the rest, as they say is history.
7. The Airlines scam in India’s Aviation sector after the 2G
license cancellation by SC was also challenged by Dr. Swamy
in SC. There is a close link between 2G Scam and the Airline
Scam. One in particular, is Indian Airlines selling its stake to a
Middle East Airlines funded by dubious anti-national forces.
Also, permission to allow two JV Airlines to a particular
corporate who had initiated Aviation business in India in the
late 1940s; thereafter its nationalisation vowed never to enter
this sector. This deal is viewed as compensating the losses
(BRIBE GIVEN TO PRECURE 2G LICENCES ILLEGALLY)
incurred due to 2G License cancellation by SC.
8. Challenging the Madras High Court in Nataraja Temple
case : Dr. Subramanian Swamy filed a petition in the Supreme
Court challenging the Madras High Court order. Madras High
Court had ruled that the administration of the Nataraja Temple
should be handed over to then Tamil Nadu government in 2009.
The case eventually was ruled in favour of Swamy. (Not many
know that Swamy is a lawyer by practice and not degree.)
9. Taking the Gandhis’ head-on in National Herald Case :
Known fondly for his one-man army tactics, Subramanian
Swamy has taken on the Gandhi family by himself for years
now. Swamy has accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Congress
leaders Oscar Fernandes and Motilal Vohra in the funds
embezzlement case (National Herald Case). Swamy accused
the Gandhis of setting up another company named Young
Indian to pay the debt using Congress’ party funds. Now the
matter is in Delhi sessions court with Sonia-Rahul Gandhi and
other Congress members appearing as accused, out on bail. The
charges will be framed very shortly.
But for now, not letting Sonia Gandhi escape away in National
Herald remains the topmost priority.
10. 10.
National Hindu Renaissance : The next mission
on Subramanian Swamy’s agenda is to bring a National Hindu
Renaissance into force. His ideology of uniting the majority
(Hindu) votes and dividing the minority (Muslim) votes in the
2014 Lok Sabha Elections provided rich dividends for the
saffron party. However, bringing a renaissance in India remains
his top priority now. The latest PT (Patriotic Tweeples) and
Virat Hindustan Sangam’ initiative is a small indicator to it.
Implementing the Uniform Civil Code and scrapping Article
370, Building Ram Mandir at Ayodhya by 2016 -17 are the
other priorities.
11.11.
Successfully saved Ram Sethu being
commercially exploited and damaged , destroyed by UPA
Congress, DMK Govt during 2005. He single-handedly fought
the case in the Supreme Court (SC) and won a favourable
judgement. In the process, Ram Sethu is going to be declared
as a National Heritage site of historical importance.
12. 12.
The
high-profile
JJ,
CM
–
TN,
disproportionate assets case , in which she had to go to jail is
Dr. Swamy’s fight against corruption and he is the first
petitioner in the case. At present, the matter is in the SC and a
final verdict is expected next month.
It is difficult to tell all about Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s life in a nutshell but
however with a person (politician) being able to do all this in national
interests earns respect.
A vested lobby within & outside the political spectrum has till now
prevented Dr. Swamy’s entry into the Parliament. It played dirty in 2014
during the Lok Sabha elections ticket distribution, promising Mumbai
North/ Mumbai North East constituency and then denying it, later
confirming it for New Delhi seat which too was denied. Thereafter the
group blocked his nomination to the Rajya Sabha, despite being eligible for
an MP ticket.
He singlehandedly took on & fought the UPA Congress’s might when in
power, as one-man army, when most of the BJP, opposition leaders kept
silent; Corruption was an instrument in UPA’s ouster from power in 2014
LS election & BJP, NaMo coming to power. The fear among the opposition,
in collusion within till now have managed to keep him out of the
parliament.
Now with his nomination to Rajya Sabha, one more agendum for the
crooked Vested Lobby, Corrupt Corporate and all those who have to hide
their malpractices to prevent him from becoming Minister, specially of
Finance... They fear being exposed.
Return of Black Money, Right Economic reforms, Fight against corruption
and Punishing past offenders, Safeguarding Indian interests, priority for
Agriculture, MSME, Personal Income Tax Abolition benefitting the middle
class segment of society, lower interest Bank funds for make in India
initiative, strict FDI Norms, Total ban on Participatory Notes and avoid
blackmail from FII’S, Transparent Market norms & Reforms, Use of Solar
energy, Tap Wind Energy, Water Desalination for fresh water scarcity, Find
new source of energy - Hydrogen Cell, Fund technology to find substitute
for oil, Use of Nuclear power for self defence & Energy needs...
National interest first, regional next.
Nation First, India First.
India got an opportunity to use his services and take it down the path to
glory. His services, vision, strategy, ideas, game plan are required to
transform India to become a Global Economic Power.
Jun 25 – Shaktikanta Das and
his role in NH cases
Figure 38.Shaktikanta Das and his role
hile Subramanian Swamy tweeted about the Economic Affairs
Secretary Shaktikanta Das for his links with former Finance Minister P
Chidambaram, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that Das was a
“disciplined” officer, rebutting Swamy. The tussle between Swamy and this
powerful bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry goes back a long way.
W
Swamy started attacking Das for his role in Aircel Maxis case to protect
Chidambaram. Those days Das was the Revenue Secretary. Enforcement
Directorate (ED) comes under the Revenue Secretary. In January 2014, the
then Finance Minister moved out Rajeshwar Singh, Enforcement
Directorate’s Deputy Director and Investigation Officer of 2G and AircelMaxis cases. As Investigating Officer Singh was directly reporting to
Supreme Court’s 2G Bench, which was monitoring these high-profile cases.
Chidambaram was waiting for the retirement of Justice G S Singhvi in
December 2013. As Singhvi was a tough judge, Chidambaram was wellaware of the repercussions of changing an Investigating Officer.
Since 1990, several courts have given strong directions to the Government
for not changing the Investigating Officers in sensitive cases till the end of
the trial. Within days of Justice Singhvi’s exit, Chidambaram removed the
non-pliant officer Rajeshwar Singh from the ED, despite Singh being
recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for
absorption. This was an unprecedented action on part of the Finance
Ministry. The officer joined the ED from Uttar Pradesh Police service on
deputation and UPSC recommended his permanent absorption in ED.
Swamy challenged Finance Ministry’s move. Though Supreme Court
ordered Rajeshwar Singh’s re-instatement in the ED in April 2014, the
order was not implemented. When the new Government came, Swamy
again approached the Supreme Court in October 2014 about the inaction on
part of the Finance Ministry in re-instating Rajeshwar Singh [22] . Was
Chidambaram controlling the Finance Ministry through pliant officers?
That time CBI and ED’s Advocate was K K Venugopal in 2G related
matters. Venugopal strongly objected to Finance Ministry’s dubious moves
against Supreme Court appointed Investigating Officers.
A day before the arguments were to commence, Revenue Secretary
Shaktikanta Das changed K K Venugopal and fielded Nageswara Rao as
ED’s Advocate [23] . Nageswara Rao was then an Assistant Solicitor General
(ASG) appointed by the UPA and is currently a judge in the Supreme Court.
Nageswara Rao under the instructions of Revenue Department told the
Supreme Court in September 2014 that all the probe in Aircel Maxis case
by ED is over and that there was no need for maintaining the Investigating
Officer Rajeshwar Singh. Swamy blasted Rao in the Court. K K Venugopal
also took Finance Ministry to task for its distortions in the Court. The
Supreme Court passed a stern direction to Ministry to absorb Rajeshwar
Singh in three working days slamming the Finance Ministry [24] .
Even after Supreme Court’s direction, Revenue Department went ahead
with a service case against Rajeshwar Singh’s absorption by UPSC. In all
legal forums Finance Ministry lost the case including Central
Administrative Tribunal and the Delhi High Court [25] . Was this punishment
to Rajeshwar Singh for raiding Chidambaram’s son Karti and his companies
in Aircel Maxis case? Even today, Finance Ministry’s appeal is pending
before Supreme Court in Service Case for Delhi High Court ratifying CAT’s
order to permanently absorb the officer in ED. Was Das delaying due
promotions to Rajeshwar Singh by conducting a service case?
So, when the Finance Minister gives a certificate to Shaktikanta Das as a
“disciplined officer”, it opens it up for interpretation of what constitutes
being “disciplined” [26] .
During the period when Das was Revenue Secretary, the ED under him in
mid-2015 even tried to block the probe in the National Herald case . After
the trial court found prima-facie evidence, Swamy filed petition to the ED
for registering cases for money laundering in National Herald deals. In
those days ED’s chief was Rajan Katoch, a UPA appointee and a cousin of
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Both Das and Katoch tried to scuttle the
case. After Swamy’s complaint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 6 , Katoch
was shunted out from ED and Shaktikanta Das was shifted out from the
powerful Revenue Department which controls ED, Income Tax, Customs,
and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
Some thoughts to ponder:
1. Is Dr. Swamy justified in his observations of Shaktikanta Das?
2. Why is Mr. Jaitley being so sensitive to a tweet by Dr. Swamy?
3. Is the NDA government finding it difficult to get things moving
thanks to such “disciplined” officers?
Aug 12 – Swamy urges Urban
Development Ministry to take
over Herald House
Figure 39. Swamy urges Urban Development Ministry to take over Herald House
his attack in the National Herald case, Senior BJP leader
S harpening
Subramanian Swamy filed a petition to the Urban Development Minister
Venkaiah Naidu demanding taking over the controversial Herald House
building. In his petition, he said that the Herald House was appropriated by
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi by floating a private company called
Young Indian and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) which allotted the
land should take back the entire building.
DDA allotted land to Associated Journal Limited (AJL) for printing and
publishing of National Herald and other two newspapers in Hindi and Urdu.
The Herald House in the Delhi’s prime land in the ITO Press Enclave is
worth over Rs.1000 crores ($150 million). AJL got the land from DDA at a
very cheap rate for newspaper publication activity and it has stopped the
publication activity in 2008. Now AJL is taken over by Sonia and Rahul by
floating a company called Young Indian in 2010 in questionable ways to
take procession of this property and building, said Swamy. The petition is
published at the end of this article.
“DDA now has the right to enter the said premises and take it over because
it is being misused by Young Indian for collecting rent at exorbitant rates by
letting out the premises to a number of corporate parties and the Passport
of MEA ,” said Swamy. The passport Seva Kendra is paying around more
than Rs. 80 lakhs ($120,000) as rent per month to the controllers of Herald
House.
Swamy said that from the trial court to Supreme Court has ratified the
prima facie cheating and fraud in the case, the DDA should take over the
building as the land belong to it. AJL lost all right to continue in the
building from 2008, as when they stopped the publishing activity, he said.
“Many also say that the AJL properties in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and
Mumbai have been taken over by the respective state governments since my
complaint case was filed in the Patiala House Courts. Hence, I urge you to
do the same thing with the Herald House on the Bahadurshah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi ,” said Swamy.
Next hearing of the National Herald case in the trial court is on August 20.
Swamy said he will file a fresh petition for seeking documents from the
Congress party, AJL and other government departments.
Figure 40. Swamy writes to the Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu
Figure 41. Page 2 of Swamy letter to Venkaiah Naidu
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 66.83 Rupees.
Aug 27 – Court issued notice to
S o n i a , R a h u l o n S w a m y ’s p l e a
for summoning documents
Figure 42. Congress asked to respond to Swamy’s plea for summoning documents
Magistrate Court on Saturday issued notices to Congress
M etropolitan
President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi and other five
accused in National Herald case to respond to a fresh plea of BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy seeking certain documents from the Congress
party, Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) and Government departments.
Magistrate directed all the accused to respond within two weeks and the
case was fixed for arguments on October 4.
In his application, Swamy has sought a series of documents relating to the
controversial loan given by the Congress to the AJL, the publisher of the
National Herald. Swamy said in his petition that these documents are
crucial for trial. He also sought documents from Income Tax and Registrar
of Companies also.
Earlier trial court had summoned documents in January and February. But
Congress leaders challenged the trial court’s order in High Court citing that
they were not heard before issuing summoning. All the government
departments had submitted documents in sealed covers. Delhi High Court
had quashed the trail court summons citing error in procedures, while
allowing Swamy to file fresh applications for the documents.
Seeking Rs. 90 crores ($13.4 million) controversial loan documents are a
nightmare for Congress party because there was no proper accounting for
this transaction, which was described as dubious and a doubtful one by the
trial court.
Putting Congress party and its leadership in a fix, Swamy has sought the
Income Tax returns of Congress party during 2010-2011, the scam period. It
is well known that these documents would create problems for the accused
as it would puncture the Congress claims on giving loans for the newspaper
publishing company. Besides political parties giving loan for commercial
activity it is illegal as per Income Tax and Election Commission norms.
Moreover, Sonia and Rahul would be in a spot of bother to explain the
curious accounting by their company Young Indian’s takeover of Congress
party’s loan claim of Rs.90 crores ($13.4 million) to AJL for just Rs.50
lakhs ($74,000).
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 67.14 Rupees.
S e p 0 6 – Wo u l d re v i v i n g
newspapers help the Gandhis in
the NHCase?
Figure 43. Would reviving newspapers help the Gandhis in the NHCase?
R Venkatesh, a noted TV Commentator, author of several books and a
Chartered Accountant weighs in on the recent decision of Associated
Journals Limited to renew the defunct newspapers and its effect, if any
on the pending National Herald case (NHCase) against the Gandhis and
others.
M
Q: Talking about the National Herald scam Associated Journal (AJL),
recently announced that National Herald and other related publications will
be resumed under Neelam Mishra. How does this affect the NH case if at
all?
M R Venkatesh: See this NH case has nothing to do with what they
publish, or they don't publish. They didn't publish was one of our last
arguments and that has nothing to do with the facts and matters of the case
as Dr. Swamy argued before the courts. As far as I am concerned, this will
not weigh on the minds of the judge and they should not, also because this
is irrelevant to the case. Now, how you put a stolen asset to use is the least
of the problem of the Court. The Court is worried whether an asset was
obtained in an illegal way or not that is the challenge before the Court.
The court agrees to what Dr. Swamy has suggested and believes that these
assets of National Herald or AJL were acquired illegally, then obviously it
has to penalize those people who are arraigned as accused number 126 in a
manner known to law. Supposing, the Court feels that they have not done
anything wrong, it is going to allow them to go scot-free. Now, this
publication may be of irrelevance, it's irrelevant news to the Court because
it doesn't alter the factum of the case and to that extent, this has to be
ignored.
Q: So, is this just a gimmick to try and fool the people to put a spin on the
case? And what would be the counter-narrative to this?
M R Venkatesh: See the fact of the matter is that this has been given wide
publicity in the local media, suggests that obviously that an attempted spin
was given. It is not a spin, it is an attempted spin, let me make it very clear.
To suggest that, here are a set of people who honestly want to revive the
National Herald and hence, they are hiring even so and so and they are
starting the production of this paper on a daily basis or a weekly basis. But
how does it alter the fact that this is an asset that you have acquired
illegally? So, obviously, this spin will be there, and this spin comes out
because you don't have any legal answer to the queries post by Dr. Swamy.
So, unless that is settled, all these are definitely not going to impress anyone
much less the courts and the courts are going to be focused on only one
thing whether the assets were accused are quite legally or otherwise. And if
legally they are going to allow people to go scot-free and if it is illegal and
then they are going to be punished.
Q: Can a PIL be filed to stay this development, quoting the ongoing
litigation or can this be challenged in the current litigation itself?
M R Venkatesh: No, frankly, I don't know, because I am only there as a
witness, I don't know what Dr. Swamy is thinking about this particular
matter. As far as I am concerned, all the documents which are required in
terms of establishing the prima facie case were provided to the court and
Dr. Swamy has again gone to the Court seeking some extra documents,
which I understand, he wants both of us parties namely the Congress and
the National Herald to provide him so that he can buttress his point and also
establish as evidence as to what went wrong in the entire transaction. Now
in this matter, I am sure Dr. Swamy is not going to waste time, as to who
becomes the editor of a particular journal or not, this is the least of his
problems, but I am sure it is eminently possible that probably that there are
certain lawyers who will do this for a very small fee in Delhi. And they
probably get motivation from Congress and I'm sure the viewer can
understand what I mean, that they would go to the Court and probably even
get it dismissed and then hail it as a moral victory before they come to the
court. I'm sure that such buffoonery doesn't impress the Court too often and
with such strong legal team that Dr. Swamy has and putting in the points
very succinctly in the Court. I'm sure he will be able to impress upon,
whether the journal is revived or not is irrelevant and let us focus only on
the scheme of things.
Sep 18 – Sonia and Rahul object
to summoning of documents in
NH case.
Figure 44. Delay tactics from SoGa and RaGa?
onia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the other five accused in the National
Herald case objected to Subramanian Swamy’s petition to summon new
documents. In a six-page reply submitted before the New Delhi
Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen, the Congress leaders accused that Swamy
is on a “fishing and roving” inquiry and is attempting to open a new case
against them with these documents.
S
Sonia and Rahul specifically objected to Swamy’s demand of summoning
Congress party’s Income Tax statements of 2010-2011 the period during
which the scam occurred. “That the application preferred by the
Complainant (Swamy) under Sec 91 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is
vague and devoid of material particulars and is ‘in the nature of fishing and
roving enquiry’ which is not permissible in the law. Courts have time and
again deprecated attempts to use Sec 91 CrPC for such a roving and fishing
inquiry,” said the joint reply filed by Sonia, Rahul, Motilal Vora, Oscar
Fernandez, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young Indian, the controversial
company floated by Sonia and Rahul to dubiously acquire National Herald
publishing company Associated Journals Limited.
Accusing Swamy of seeking so many documents, the Congress leaders said
that Swamy’s intention is to create a new case against them with these new
documents. They said Swamy is going beyond the scope of enquiry and not
divulging the need of the new documents.
“That the fundamental issue for consideration while going into the merits of
the application revolves around the fact as to whether at this stage the
complainant can go beyond the scope of enquiry in the complaint under the
trial. The Complainant through this application is seeking to call for
documents without divulging their necessity and desirability on the basis of
the allegations made by him in his complaint. Thereby the complainant
seeks to access documents in an attempt to make out a new case. The
endeavour of the Complainant of not providing a list of witness also shows
the malafide nature of the current petition,” said the Congress leaders.
Swamy’s demand to summon the accounts and Income Tax statement of
Congress party during the scam period (2010-2011) is vehemently objected
by the Congress top brass. This Income Tax statement of the scam period is
expected to be boomerang on Sonia, Rahul, Vora who always claimed that
the Congress party’s transfer of Rs. 90 crores ($13.41 million) to Associated
Journals Limited. Moreover, Income Tax authorities have unearthed
dubious companies based in Kolkata transferring money to Congress as
donation, which ultimately reached in Young Indian, which is totally illegal.
Congress leaders said as Congress party is not an accused; its accounts
should not be called. The following tweets by noted Political Commentator,
Accountant and Journalist S Gurumurthy shed light on the sources of
funding (see Figure 34, Figure 35).
“That the complainant has sought documents from the Income Tax
authorities regarding parties, which are not accused in the matter. In such a
scenario, the Income Tax Act, 1961 contains Sections pertaining to
confidentiality of Income Tax Records which prohibit disclosure of
information of the assesses,” said Congress leaders citing several judgments
on confidently of Income Tax statements.
The Congress leaders also objected to summoning of documents from the
Registrar of Companies (RoC). They said Swamy had already produced
these documents. “To now again summon documents from RoC falls within
the parameter of a fishing and roving enquiry, as the case has already been
set up by the Complainant during the course of recording of pre-summoning
evidence.”
The arguments on this matter of summoning documents are scheduled in
the trial court on October 4. Trial court’s earlier order of summoning
documents were challenged by the Congress leaders in Delhi High Court,
citing that they were not heard. The High Court had quashed the order and
documents were returned to the trial court, giving permission to Swamy to
file a fresh application.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 67.07 Rupees.
Nov 08 – ED summons Motilal
Vo r a i n P a n c h k u l a l a n d d e a l s
Figure 45. Summons from ED to Motilal Vora
he National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government is slowly but
steadily proceeding against illegalities associated with the Congress
leadership in the National Herald case. The Enforcement Directorate
(ED) on Monday summoned Congress Treasurer Motilal Vora in connection
with its money laundering probe into irregularities in the allotment of a plot
to Associated Journal Limited (AJL), publisher of the National Herald
newspaper, in Haryana's Panchkula in 2005.
T
Vora, the keeper of Congress accounts has been summoned under the
provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for
questioning on November 22. ED officials said Vora has been summoned
by the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case in his capacity as the Chairman
and Managing Director of the AJL.
ED has already booked former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda, AJL officials and others on charges of alleged money laundering,
taking cognisance of a Haryana State Vigilance Bureau FIR. The Vigilance
Bureau had registered a case of cheating and corruption against Hooda and
four officials who were in Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA)
for allegedly re-allotting a plot to AJL in Panchkula in 2005.
Meanwhile, the main National Herald case filed by BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy is posted for arguments on December 9. Congress has vehemently
objected to Swamy’s demand for summoning of documents from various
government departments. He also demanded the Congress party to submit
its balance sheets and accounts during the scam period of 2010-2011. On
December 9, Swamy will continue his arguments, rebutting the Congress
versions.
ED and CBI have not acted on Swamy’s complaints against Sonia Gandhi,
Rahul Gandhi for breach of public trust, manipulations, cheating violating
the provisions of government properties for newspaper publications and
capturing the assets of AJL etc.
Background of Panchkula land deal
The vigilance case was registered under various IPC sections, including
criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating, criminal conspiracy
and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, against
Hooda, the then HUDA chairman, an ex-officio post held by him as
the CM, and four other top officials of HUDA on May 5 this year.
The plot had been initially allotted to AJL in 1982. After the expiry of the
lease period in 1996, then Haryana Vikas Party government led by Bansi
Lal took back its possession. It was re-allotted to AJL after the Congress
leader came to power in 2005.
The Vigilance Bureau had alleged that the act by the then HUDA
chairman and the officials had caused a huge financial loss to HUDA as
the plot should have been sold through open auction instead of
being allotted again to AJL.
A separate FIR had been lodged in December last year by the
state vigilance bureau against Hooda as the then chairman and chief
administrator of HUDA for alleged irregularities in allotment of industrial
plots in Panchkula three years ago.
There are similar kinds of irregularities in the allotments of land for
National Herald in Mumbai, Bhopal, Indore. Maharashtra State
Government has already initiated action on the irregularities and capturing
of Mumbai land for publication of National Herald newspaper. On August
10th, Senior BJP leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy had written to Shri.
Venkaiah Naidu asking him to direct Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
to re-possess Herald House, located in a prime location in New Delhi [27] .
Nov 15 – National Herald
website launch a cover-up to
beg mercy from the Court?
Figure 46. Launch of website immaterial to the case?
ongress leadership has launched a website of the now defunct National
Herald newspaper on November 14 – birth anniversary of founder
Jawaharlal Nehru. The website http://www.nationalheraldindia.com/ is
claimed as the digital edition of the paper and is seen as an attempt to beg
mercy from the trial court in BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s watertight
case against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi with fraud, cheating and
financial misappropriation charges. In this day and age, it is so easy to
create a website and put a name on it and claim that it is newspaper which
C
is what AJL appears to have done.
“Associated Journals Limited“, a company founded in 1937 by Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, has launched the beta version of its English Website –
www.nationalheraldindia.com starting today, November 14, 2016.
“In keeping with the changing times, the newspaper group resumes phased
publication as a multi-media outlet with a strong digital presence. The
digital website will follow the same editorial vision and principles as that of
our Founder, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It remains committed to furthering
the values it has always cherished and the best values of the Freedom
Movement – that of building a modern, democratic, just, equitable, liberal
and socially harmonious nation, free of sectarian strife ,” said the AICC
Press Release [28] .
Here the question is the role of Young Indian, a private company floated by
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi with 38 percent of shares each to dubiously
acquire the more than 1000 shareholders owned public limited company
Associated Journals Ltd.’s (AJL) assets spanning Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow,
Panchkula, Bhopal and Indore. Another issue is the Congress party’s illegal
grant of loan of Rs.90 crores ($13.53 million) to AJL and valuing this loan
for just Rs.50 lakhs ($74,000) by Young Indian and dubiously taking over
more than 99 percent of the shares of AJL1 . Questions have been asked if
Congress even gave the loan to AJL or was it from a set of dubious shell
companies based in Kolkata [29] .
National Herald newspaper became defunct in 2008 and Sonia and Rahul’s
newly floated company took over the publishing company AJL in a covert
manner in December 2010. When Subramanian Swamy exposed the fraud
in November 2012, Congress leadership was parroting that they would soon
resume the publishing of the newspaper. The entire lands across India were
allotted to AJL by government at throw away prices to publish the
newspaper and if the newspaper publishing activity is not doing, the
government reserves the right to take back the land.
Swamy had already petitioned to Urban Development Minister Venkaiah
Naidu to take back the 1000-crores worth land and building in Delhi [30] ,
citing no newspaper publishing is taking place for the past 8 years. He also
sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on the
misappropriation of the public property by Sonia and Rahul. Maharashtra
and Haryana Governments have already started action on taking back the
lands allotted to National Herald.
Somehow, even after Delhi High Court and Supreme Court ratified the
prima facie case of cheating, fraud and financial misappropriation found by
the trial court, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not yet
acted. Next hearing of the case is on December 9, where Swamy is expected
to resume his arguments for the need of documents from Government and
submission of balance sheets and accounts of Congress party during the
scam period 2010-2011.
The launching of the website and claiming it as a digital edition is seen as a
cover up by Congress leaders to beg mercy in court during the trial. A crime
that has already been committed cannot be condoned and this launch of
website is nothing but an argument in court for defending the indefensible
crime.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 67.88 Rupees.
Dec 09 – Blast from the Past:
Patel - Nehru letters exposes
the frauds in fund collection
for NH
Figure 47. Patel & Nehru spar on NH
series of letters between Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal
T he Nehru
in May 1950 exposes that Nehru and his family members used
National Herald (NH) as a tool for collecting money for awarding
government contracts, even from undesirable elements also. Five such
letters from the book – Sardar Patel’s Correspondence shows that Nehru
was warned by Patel from accepting money rampantly by misusing the
government machinery.
On May 5, 1950, Patel warned Nehru about NH, saying it accepted money
of more than Rs.75,000 from two undesirable persons belong to Himalayan
Airways, which illegally bagged contract for night air mail service from
government, over the objections of the Indian Air Force. In that letter the
Home Minister Patel cautioned the Prime Minister that NH also accepted
money from one dubious businessman Akhani for the night mail contracts
for his flight company.
Patel said that Akhani also collected money from “maneuvering” firms like
Tatas and the Air Services of India. Akhani was then facing cheating
charges in many courts for defrauding banks. Patel also cautioned Nehru
about Union Minister Ahmed Kidwai was misusing office and collecting
money for National Herald from Lucknow based dubious businessmen like
JP Srivastava.
That day itself Nehru replied to Patel in a wishy-washy manner, pacifying
Patel saying that he had asked his son-in-law and General Manager of
National Herald, Feroze Gandhi to inquire about the illegal money
collection. Seeing Nehru’s attitude Patel shot back next day on May 6,
rebutting his claims. The Home Minister reiterated to Prime Minister, urged
him to desist the practice of money collection in the name of National
Herald from dubious persons for granting contracts from Government. All
the five letters between Patel and Nehru are published at the end of this
article, exposing the frauds in fund collection for the National Herald by
Nehru family.
Nehru replied back on May 6 trying to calm him, while not answering his
specific findings of illegal funding. At one point Nehru claimed that for the
past three years he has not had any links with National Herald and Feroze
Gandhi and one Mridula is entrusted with raising funds for the newspaper.
On some cases, Nehru admitted that mistakes happened.
Seeing Nehru’s style of protecting the fund collectors, Patel wrote the last
letter on May 10, 1950. In his letter, Patel showed displeasure about Nehru
protecting such dubious payments and reiterated that as Home Minister, he
has found the disingenuity of such payments and persons associating with
NH funding troubling.
Here is the correspondence between Patel and Nehru on NH:
Figure 48. Patel letter to Nehru re National Herald
Dec 09 – Court to decide on
summoning documents in NH
caseonDec26
Figure 49. Orders reserved till Dec 26
Magistrate Court on Friday is set to pronounce the order on
M etropolitan
December 26th on the issue of summoning documents from
Government and Congress party in the National Herald case. Hearing
the heated arguments between a battery of lawyers of Congress party and
petitioner Subramanian Swamy for more than 90 minutes on the need of the
documents in the politically sensitive case, Magistrate Lovleen declared
pronouncement of orders on this regard.
Lawyers of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi argued that Swamy was going on
a “fishing and roving” exercise and that the Court should not allow his
petition to summon documents from Income Tax and the Registrar of
Companies. Advocates R S Cheema, Ramesh Gupta and Rebecca John
vehemently objected to Swamy’s arguments. Swamy sought mainly
documents related to the controversial Rs.90 crores transaction from
Congress party and Associated Journals.
The Courtroom witnessed heated exchanges between Swamy and Congress
lawyers. Many a time, Congress lawyers said that the BJP leader was trying
to create new cases against them from after getting new documents and his
intentions were malicious. Swamy countered the arguments that accused
cannot dictate what all the documents to be sought and urged the need for
the documents which would expose the money laundering and illegalities in
the National Herald scam.
Congress lawyers objected many times when Swamy provoked them on the
contents of the Congress party’s balance sheets and account statements
during the scam period in 2010-2011. Swamy provoked them by
distributing the controversial letters between Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal
Nehru during 1950 about the dubious collection of funds from controversial
businessmen [31] . “Everyday Swamy is bringing some documents. This
should not be permitted,” said Congress lawyers.
“This is not the part of the case. I just wanted to show the history and the
nature of frauds happening for a long time with this organization,” Swamy
retorted, and handed over the copy of the letters to the Magistrate.
Earlier in January, the Court allowed Swamy’s petition and all government
documents submitted documents in a sealed cover. Congress leaders
challenged trial court’s decision citing that they were not heard before
passing the orders. Delhi High Court observed that trial court made an error
by not hearing the arguments of the accused in this regard.
Dec 26 – Court dismisses
S w a m y ’s p e t i t i o n f o r d o c s f r o m
Govt & Congress. Directs to
file appropriate petition
Figure 50. Court asks Swamy to request for specific documents
he Metropolitan Magistrate on Monday dismissed BJP leader
Subramanian Swamy’s petition to seek documents from government
departments and the Congress in the National Herald case. However, the
Court asked Swamy to file the list of witnesses and gave him opportunity to
file “appropriate” petition for summoning documents again during the trial,
while terming his dismissed petition as “fishing inquiry” and trying to
T
widen the scope of the case.
“In the interests of justice, last opportunity is granted to the complainant to
file the list of witnesses as undertaking by him previously and also to move
appropriate application for summoning of records, if he so desires,” said the
Order issued by Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen. According to this onepage order on Monday’s proceedings, Swamy has to submit reasons for
each document he seeks during the trial.
Swamy has sought more than 100 documents from the Income Tax
department, Registrar of Companies, Congress and National Herald
publisher Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The 24-page Order, observed
that Swamy “seemed to enlarge the scope of present proceedings.” Swamy
termed this order as “perverse” one and said he will appeal.
“In these circumstances, the prayer of the complainant is nothing but a
fishing enquiry which is not permitted under the law. This court feels that
by seeking the above documents the complainant seems to enlarge scope of
present proceedings,” the court said.
“At the very outset, this court must observe that by using the terms
'verify'/'see'/'investigate' (in application) the complainant (Swamy) admits
that he himself is not aware of the contents of the said documents,” said the
order rejecting Swamy’s demand for several documents of Congress party
including the demand for Congress Working Committee’s (CWC)
resolutions for approving loan to AJL. It is a fact that there was no such
CWC resolution and Swamy’s was trying to test the waters.
The court also said that most of the documents sought “do not seem
relevant in view of context of present allegations” and “do not seem to be
connected to the facts required to be proved by the complainant.”
Congress’s main objection was to seek the party’s balance sheet and
accounts during scam period (2010-2011) when the new company Young
Indian was floated by Sonia and Rahul and payments of Rs.90 crores was
given from party to AJL.
The Magistrate has asked Swamy to provide a list of witnesses by February
10, the next hearing of the case. The pre-charge evidence will start on this
day and Swamy is supposed to file the list of witnesses and revised petition
for specific documents.
The court also said that most of the documents sought “do not seem
relevant in view of context of present allegations” and “do not seem to be
connected to the facts required to be proved by the complainant.” It said
that a few documents which seemed to be relevant, could not be ordered to
be summoned as those were “to be contemporaneous with the examination
of prosecution witnesses. In the present case the complainant has not even
placed a list of witnesses, whom he proposes to examine in pre-charge
stage. So, the prayer made by the complainant for summoning the
documents from Congress and AJL has to be rejected.”
Earlier in January, the trial court had ordered for summoning of documents
from government departments and the Congress. Congress leaders Motilal
Vora and Oscar Fernandes challenged this decision in the Delhi High Court.
The High Court had quashed the trial court’s order, citing the error in
procedure for not seeking reply from the accused.
2017
Apr 06 – CBI files FIR against
Hooda and AJL in NH case –
Sends shivers to Sonia and
Rahul
Figure 51. CBI files FIR against Hooda and AJL
ith the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filing a First Information
Report (FIR) against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda
and National Herald publishing company Associated Journals Limited
(AJL), the shock waves have reached Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. CBI
has registered an FIR against Hooda, AJL and officials for gross illegalities
in the allotment of land in Panchkula for the erstwhile National Herald
newspaper publishing company.
W
The probe was first started by the Vigilance department of Haryana and
subsequently handed over to the CBI. The reasons cited for the state
government for handing over the case to CBI will come as a nightmare for
Sonia and Rahul. “The matter relating to Associated Journals Limited in
Delhi and Mumbai is already being looked into at national level. Keeping in
view that persons in high places are involved and in view of the
complexities involved in the matter as well as the fact that the allottee
Company and its office bearers have their offices/ residence across many
States, which will be beyond the working of State Vigilance Bureau, it has
been decided to get the matter investigated from the Central Bureau of
Investigation for a free and fair investigation,” said the Haryana
Government’s letter to Centre, attached with the CBI’s 13-page FIR. The
FIR is published at the end of the article.
In the present case, Hooda and officials are charged for conspiracy and
misuse of power along with AJL. The present Directors of the AJL are
Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandez, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda [32] . All
these persons are the accused along with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s main National Herald case before the
New Delhi Metropolitan Magistrate’s court.
All the AJL Directors along with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the
Directors of the controversial company Young Indian, which acquired the
Rs.5000 crores ($774 million) worth assets of public limited company AJL.
Already Swamy had filed complaints with CBI and ED for registering case
in National Herald under Prevention of Corruption Act, and
misappropriation of land in Delhi and Prevention of Money Laundering
Act. Swamy’s allegations were prima facie ratified from the trial court to
the Supreme Court. Now the CBI action for illegalities in allotment of
Panchkula land makes the bigger crime in Delhi an open and shut case,
where Sonia and Rahul are directly involved.
The million-dollar question is when will the CBI, ED and Income Tax take
their toughest call?
The link to the 13-page FIR is published as Appendix 3.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.61 Rupees.
Apr 21 – Enforcement
D i r e c t o r a t e q u e s t i o n s Vo r a a n d
Hooda in NH case
Figure 52. ED questions Vora and Hooda
Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned All India Congress
T heCommittee
(AICC) Treasurer Motilal Vora and former Haryana Chief
Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with the money
laundering in the National Herald case. ED sleuths questioned Vora at his
residence on April 18 in Delhi. Hooda was questioned at ED’s Chandigarh
office. Both were interrogated by ED sleuths, focusing on the dubious land
allotment in Panchkula to the defunct National Herald newspaper
publishing company Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
The questioning of Vora has sent shock waves to the Congress top
leadership. Vora is Sonia’s treasurer from 1998, after she ascended to the
President-ship of the Party. According to ED officials, they went to his
house for questioning due to his illness. ED’s action came after the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a First Information Report (FIR)
against Hooda and AJL. Vora is the Chairman and Managing Director of
AJL for the past two decades. State Vigilance found several violations in
the allotment of Panchkula plot in 2005 when Hooda was the Chief
Minister of Haryana.
Apart from Hooda and AJL, the CBI FIR named the then Haryana Urban
Development Authority (HUDA) officials [33] . Three IAS officers namely S
S Dhillon, Vineet Garg and the recently retired Shakuntala Jakhu were
named in the FIR.
Hearing the news on ED questioned Vora and Hooda, main petitioner and
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy tweeted the following:
Figure 53. Swamy tweets on ED action against Hooda
Meanwhile, the next hearing of Subramanian Swamy’s case in National
Herald matter is scheduled for April 22 before the New Delhi Metropolitan
Magistrate’s Court. The case is pending before arguments on Swamy’s
petition to summon witnesses such as some officials from Income Tax,
Registrar of Companies and Urban Development Ministry. He also
demanded summoning AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi in the
case citing that the Congress leader was the first person who admitted from
the party that they had paid Rs.90 crores ($13.9 million) to AJL, which is a
clear violation of laws.
Meanwhile, like the Haryana Government, Maharashtra Government too
has ordered a probe on the violations and illegal sale of prime plot allotted
in Bandra.
It is expected that CBI and ED’s actions would create an interesting turn of
events in Swamy’s case which mainly targets Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi. Other persons accused in the case are Sonia’s trusted men Motilal
Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, and Sam Pitroda.
Swamy has already filed complaints to CBI, ED, and Urban Development
Ministry for registering case for grabbing the plot and building in Delhi and
money trail of Rs.90 crores ($13.9 million) from Congress party to AJL,
which is acquired by Sonia and Rahul by floating a new private company
called Young Indian.
Meanwhile, like the Haryana Government, Maharashtra Government too
has ordered a probe on the violations and illegal sale of prime plot allotted
in Bandra. Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis has appointed Additional
Chief Secretary Gautam Chatterjee to probe into the land grabbing and
illegal sale of Bandra property and the officer had submitted the report
detailing the violations to the State Government in Feb 2016 [34] . Till date
the state government has not taken any action.
Similarly, Income Tax Department has also not finished its probe on money
trail from Congress to the AJL.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.67 Rupees.
Apr 22 – Swamy files
application to summon Hooda.
Congress-objects
Figure 54. Swamy files application to summon Hooda
tightening the screws in the National Herald case, Senior
F urther
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy filed
application on Saturday for summoning former Haryana Chief Minister
Bhupinder Hooda citing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and
Enforcement Directorate (ED) First Information Report (FIR)s in the
Panchkula land allotment scam. Swamy’s petition was vehemently objected
to by the Congress leaders’s lawyers alleging that he was purposefully
widening the case and creating mischief.
The lawyers representing Congress leaders led by R S Cheema objected to
Swamy’s application. They said every time Swamy is coming with new
dimensions and that the Panchkula scam has nothing to do with the main
National Herald case.
Arguing before the Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen, Swamy said his case
against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi also details the land scam in
Panchkula and he is proved right that government agencies have now
registered an FIR on the matter. He said Hooda and accused Motilal Vora
were recently questioned by the CBI and the role of Hooda has to be
ascertained in his case also. Apart from Hooda, Swamy also demanded
bureaucrats S S Dhillon, Vineet Garg and Shakuntala Jakhu be summoned
as witness. These IAS officers were named in the FIR of CBI for conniving
with Hooda and Assoicated Journal in 2005 during their tenure in Haryana
Urban Development Authority (HUDA).
Swamy’s idea is to widen the case and try to create more problems to his
political opponents, said Cheema.
Countering the Congress lawyers, Swamy said that his petition is about the
land grabbing of lands allotted to National Herald newspaper in Delhi,
Panchkula, Mumbai, Indore, Lucknow and Bhopal by main accused Sonia
and Rahul. “Now the state agencies also found the irregularities and these
persons are also part of the land grabbing,” he said. The case was adjourned
to May 15 for further arguments.
After the hearing, Swamy tweeted as follows:
Figure 55. Why is Congress nervous?
This is a strategic move by Swamy and the CBI and ED cases would
strengthen his case. The Government’s action and registering FIR has
proved Swamy’s main allegation of land grabbing in the name of newspaper
business by Congress leadership.
May 12 – Delhi High Court
rejects Sonia & Rahul petition
t o q u a s h I n c o m e Ta x a c t i o n
Figure 56. Delhi High Court directs Gandhis to respond to IT notice
he hubris filled Gandhi family’s smugness and disrespect for the laws of
the country have been dealt a severe blow in the National Herald case.
On Friday, the Congress leaders faced the wrath of Delhi High Court by
directly approaching them, without going to Income Tax (IT), which had
served them notice.
T
At one point, the Judges told the Congress leaders: “Don’t be arrogant.
First go to tax officers ,” when the lawyers again and again pressed them.
The Delhi High Court declined to stay the income tax proceedings against
Young Indian Pvt. Ltd. in the National Herald case, which involves,
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and asked them to
approach the tax authorities.
“We are not inclined to entertain your writ petition. It is better you
withdraw it and approach the income tax assessing officer ,” a bench of
Justices S Muralidhar and Chander Shekhar said. It also said that the
company has not moved the assessing officer raising its grievances, so it
should first approach the IT department and submit its documents.
In case it is still not satisfied, the company can move the court thereafter,
the bench added. At one point, the Judges told the Congress leaders: “Don’t
be arrogant. First go to tax officers ,” when the lawyers again and again
pressed them.
Income Tax action came after the trial court summoned Sonia, Rahul and
other Congress leaders on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s petition.
Sensing the mood of the bench, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi,
appearing for the Young Indian, withdrew the petition which was allowed
by the court that termed it “dismissed as withdrawn .”
Young Indian (YI) had approached the high court seeking a direction to stay
the IT proceedings and quashing of re- assessment notices issued against it
with regard to the National Herald misappropriation of assets case. The
company was issued notices regarding the assessment year 2011-12.
The counsel for the Income Tax Department opposed the petition, saying
the firm has not moved the assessing officer and hence its plea was not
maintainable.
Income Tax action came after the trial court summoned Sonia, Rahul and
other Congress leaders on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s petition. The
Income Tax Department sent notice to Congress party for illegally giving
Rs.90 crores ($12.5 million) to AJL. There is doubt if even Congress Party
funded AJL as noted by Political Commentator, Accountant and Journalist
S Gurumurthy shed light on the sources of funding [35] .
Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and
misappropriate funds by paying just Rs. 50 lakhs ($78,000), through which
YI had obtained the right to recover Rs. 90.25 crores ($12.5 million) which
the Associate Journals Limited (AJL) owed to the Congress party. Motilal
Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda are the co-accused
in the case. Next hearing in the trial court is scheduled on May 15, where
arguments for seeking further documents expected to continue.
PGurus has covered this case extensively and archives can be accessed by
reference link [36] .
Figure 57. If Swamy was an inspector...
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.16 Rupees.
May 13 – In 2004, IT had found 5.3cr
illegal payment by Congress
Figure 58. In 2004, IT had found 5.3cr illegal payment by Congress
surfaced letter from the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (IT) dept. in
A recently
Lucknow proves that the Department was well aware of illegal fund flow from Congress
party to National Herald publishing company 13 years ago! The IT document published at
the end of this articles exposes that on December 28, 2004, the Lucknow Unit had alerted the
Delhi IT unit that AJL got Rs.5.3 crores ($826,000) from Congress party illegally.
This illegal payment from Congress party happened during the period 2001 to 2002. “During
the course of assessment proceedings for AY 02-03 in the case of M/s Associated Journals Ltd.
(AJL), it is found that your assessee i.e. All India Congress Committee has given an interest
free loan Rs.5,30,00,000 ($826,000) during the period 1.4.2001 to 31.3.2002. This
information is being passed to you for necessary action at your end ,” said the Income Tax’s
Lucknow Unit’s letter to New Delhi Unit titled as “Passing of Information.”
At that time, the treasurer of Congress was Motilal Vora, who was also the Chairman of AJL.
Vora became the Treasurer of the party when Sonia Gandhi captured the President-ship of the
party in 1998, by unceremoniously removing Sitaram Kesri [37] . The episode, described as
Toilet Gate details how the then President of the party, Sitaram Kesri was locked up in a toilet
to enable Sonia to become the President of the Congress Party [38] .
Figure 59. How Kesri was removed
As per rules, a political party cannot give funds to a business activity. The saga of National
Herald should convince anyone that Congress party has no respect for the laws of the country.
The ongoing National Herald case exposes that the public limited company AJL has received
Rs.90 crores ($12.5 million) from Congress party to settle his dues. Mysteriously the new
private limited company Young Indian, with 76 percent of shares owned by Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi decided to take over the Rs.90 crores ($12.5 million) worth dues of AJL at a
valued price of Rs.50 lakhs ($78,000). Till date none has explained how Rs.90 crores got
valued at Rs.50 lakhs. By this curious deal, AJL decided to allot 99.9 percent of its shares to
Young Indian. Many of the 1000 plus shareholders of AJL who were contacted said they did
not know of the fact that AJL was being sold to Young Indian! By this fraud [39] , Young Indian
with just five lakh share capital floated in December 2010, became the owner of AJL’s
Rs.5000 crores ($779 million) worth land assets and buildings across India.
As the original notice is not so legible, for the benefit of the readers, the contents of the notice
are shown below:
OFFICE OF THE DY. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX R-IV
LUCKNOW
DCITR-IV
09
0428.12.200
4
The Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax
Circle 31(3)
Ayakar Bhavan
New Delhi
Sir,
Sub: Passing of information – reg.
Kindly refer to the above subject.
During the course of assessment proceedings for AY 02-03 in the case of M/s Associated
Journals Ltd., it is found that your Assessee i.e. All India Congress Committee has given an
interest free loan Rs.5,30,00,000 during the period 1.4.2001 to 31.3.2002. This information is
being passed to you for necessary action at your end.
Yours faithfully
S/d
Deputy Commissioner of IT
Encls: As above
The original alert notice of Income Tax Lucknow Unit is published below:
Figure 60. Alert notice by IT department
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.16 Rupees.
M a y 1 3 – G a n d h i f a m i l y ’s
Nemesis?
Figure 61. Gandhi family’s Nemesis?
ongress Party president Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi
are in a blue funk, unable to explain their illegal takeover of the assets
of the National Herald Group in 2012, by transferring its shares to a
company, Young India, in which they control 76 per cent stake.
C
Briefly, the rigmarole involved the party loaning Rs 90-plus crores ($12.5
million) to Associated Journals Pvt. Ltd. (AJL), owner and publisher of
National Herald (English daily), Navjivan (Hindi daily), Qaumi Awaz
(Urdu daily), and National Herald International Weekly, to wipe out its
debts and settle employee dues after publication formally ceased in 2008.
Thereafter, on April 26, 2012, Young Indian ‘extinguished’ this Rs.90
crores debt for a paltry Rs.50 lakhs while transferring AJL shares to itself.
The mathematics has never been explained to this day!
The transactions were conducted in utmost secrecy, with Motilal Vora as
party treasurer transferring the money to Motilal Vora as chairman cum
managing director of AJL and select family loyalists in the know. Vora and
party general secretary Oscar Fernandes are also shareholders in Young
Indian, with 12 per cent stake each. Other Directors include family friends
Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda.
Some persons who held shares from the time Jawaharlal Nehru launched
National Herald in 1937, with funds from the public, were aghast at the
development and blew the whistle, discreetly. That is how this writer came
to be the first journalist to touch the story [Niticentral, 29 October 2012] at
a time when it seemed that the Gandhi family could never be held
accountable for any misdeed. Now, thanks to the doggedness of BJP leader,
Dr. Subramanian Swamy, who took the case to court, struggled to get it
admitted and followed it through, this is one act for which they will be held
legally liable.
It bears stating that Union Finance Finister Arun Jaitley’s assertion to a
news channel (Aug 5, 2014) that the Congress could “simply return the loan
and the matter could end,” is incorrect [40] . First, Congress did not take any
loan. Rather, it was Congress that loaned a staggering Rs.90 crores ($12.5
million) to AJL, which is a commercial enterprise (even if non-viable), and
this is illegal for a political party. It is shameful that the Election
Commission has failed to take cognisance of this breach.
Second, AJL was set up with around 5000 shareholders. By purchasing its
debt of Rs.90 crores from the Congress party, for a paltry sum of Rs.50
lakhs ($78,000), without informing any of the original shareholders or their
heirs, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi indulged in an illegal activity that
gave them control of real estate worth around Rs 5000 crores ($779
million). Since the story broke, many questionable property deals in the
name of National Herald have come to light.
On Friday, 12 May 2017, the Delhi High Court rejected Young Indian
Private Ltd’s petition to quash Income Tax Department proceedings against
it and directed the company to first approach the Income Tax assessing
officer and submit all required documents [41] .
Young Indian (Registration no. 55-210686) is a private company registered
under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. Its stated aim is to inculcate
“in the mind of India’s youth, commitment to the ideal of a democratic and
secular society for its entire populace without any distinction as to religion,
caste or creed and to awaken India’s youth to participate in activities that
promote the foregoing objective.” As this has nothing to do with
journalism, it is inexplicable as to why Young Indian acquired the assets of
a media company for its activities. Moreover, the National Herald building
on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg has been rented to the Ministry of External
Affairs for its Passport Division at a reported sum of Rs.60 lakhs ($94,000)
per month. Young Indian has never explained what it does with the money.
The takeover was executed systematically. AJL was formally closed and
printing of all publications terminated in 2008, leaving an unpaid debt of
Rs.90 crores approximately. On November 23, 2010, Young Indian Pvt.
Ltd. was incorporated with a paid-up capital of just Rs 5 lakh u/s 25 of the
Companies Act, in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi owned 38 per
cent shares each (jointly 76 per cent).
In December 2010, the Board of Directors of Young Indian passed a
resolution to “own” the outstanding debt of the AJL and obtained an
unsecured zero interest loan from the Congress for equivalent amount to
liquidate the said debt. Sonia Gandhi was the then Congress president,
Rahul Gandhi general secretary, and Motilal Vora party treasurer and CMD
of AJL.
The AJL held a Board meeting and declared that it could not discharge the
debt to Congress. It resolved without reference to and approval of the
shareholders that Young Indian would own its debt, and for Rs. 50 lakhs its
entire share equity would be transferred to Young Indian. Thus, AJL
became a wholly owned company of Young Indian. The loan obtained from
the party was written off as irrecoverable.
The AJL Balance Sheet shows that it had real estate assets possibly worth
Rs.5000 crores, in Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Indore, Mumbai, Panchkula,
Patna and other yet identified places. These were provided by various
Central and State Governments after 1947 for facilitating newspaper
printing, and publishing.
After taken possession of this vast real estate, Young Indian declared that
according to its objectives submitted for obtaining registration under section
25 of the Companies Act, 1956 it will not engage in publishing a newspaper
including the National Herald. The Herald House in New Delhi has been
rented and Young Indian receives the remuneration.
That there was deep planning behind these moves can be seen from the fact
that in AJL’s List of Shareholders and Debenture Holders 2008, the name of
Rahul Gandhi has been inserted by hand at Page 49, with no shares or
debentures allotted, and no other particulars given. In the List for 2011,
Young Indian figures as the last entry, with the address N-125 Panchsheel
Park, New Delhi-110017, and the shares allotted are 9,02,16,898. Moti Lal
Vora signed this document in his capacity as Managing Director.
The 2011 list of shareholders submitted to the Registrar of Companies
included names of mostly deceased persons (about 80 per cent) and firms
long defunct. Names that stand out include Jawaharlal Nehru of Anand
Bhawan, Allahabad (died 1964); Rafi Ahmad Kidwai (d 1954); Feroze
Gandhi (d 1960); Indira Nehru Gandhi (d 1984); Ghanshyam Das Birla (d
1983); NS Pandit and Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (she died 1990); Kailash Nath
Katju (d 1968); Dr. Radha Kumud Mukherji; former Chief Justice of India;
Mirza Hameedullah Beg (d 1985); Yagya Dutt Sharma (d 1996); Sucheta
Kripalani (d 1974); Yashpal Kapoor; Mohammed Yunus (d 2001); BRCC
president Rajni Patel; Jitendra Prasad (d 2001); H.Y. Sharda Prasad (d
2008); Lalit Suri (d 2006).
When any shareholder died, AJL did not pass on the shares to their legal
heirs. However, members of the Nehru-Gandhi family and their close
associates entered the shareholder list: hence Indira Gandhi and Feroze
Gandhi and later their grandchildren. Some trusts like Rattan Deep Trust
controlled by RD Pradhan and Rahul Gandhi, and Janhit Nidhi controlled
by Rahul Gandhi, Rameshwar Thakur and Priyanka Gandhi Vadera
(spelling as per list), were involved in this business.
In February 2013, Subramanian Swamy succeeded in having a criminal
complaint for misappropriation of the Herald Group registered against
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman
Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and the private firm Young Indian, at Patiala House
Courts, New Delhi. Swamy pointed out that National Herald Group was not
owned by the Nehru family, but by persons who joined the freedom
movement and contributed most of the share capital. Hence, Young Indian
had no right to appropriate 99 per cent of AJL shares with funds from the
Congress party.
In fact, as AJL held valuable properties and owed only Rs.90 crores to the
Congress party and had little other liability, it could have used this real
estate to return the loan and give huge benefits to its surviving 1000-plus
shareholders who had contributed roughly Rs.89 lakhs ($89,000) to AJL’s
capital at various times.
Since the filing of the case, it has emerged that a commercial building on
prime land (3,478 sq m) in Bandra [42] , Mumbai, worth around Rs.200
crores ($31 million), was allotted for a Nehru memorial library and research
centre nearly three decades ago. Another commercial building has come up
on a plot of land taken at Panchkula (Chandigarh) in 2005, for newspapers
that were already defunct.
Under pressure, in January 2016, an extraordinary general body meeting
(EGM) of AJL was held at Lucknow to help the Gandhis counter the
accusation that they had usurped AJL’s real estate worth thousands of crores
by seizing its equity via Young Indian.
But there are many problems. The first relates to preferential shareholders.
Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan claims that his late father, Vishwamitra,
held preferential shares, which do not carry voting rights. But if dividend is
not paid for three years, the shareholders become voting members. As AJL
never paid dividend since 1937, all preferential shareholders (or heirs) may
be deemed as shareholders.
The EGM invitees included Motilal Vora, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Syed Sibtey
Razi, Sam Pitroda, Oscar Fernandes, Sheila Dikshit, Sandeep Dikshit,
Salim Sherwani, Ratna Singh, and Jitin Prasada. While the first three
figured as shareholders in 2008, it is unclear when the others became
shareholders.
Some shareholders who turned up at the venue were denied entry and told
that they would be informed about the decisions. Though more than a year
has passed, they have not been recognised and listed.
Now Nemesis is knocking at the door. With real estate deals of daughter
Priyanka Vadra and her husband, Robert Vadra, also coming under scrutiny,
the Gandhi Parivar suddenly finds itself between a rock and hard place.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.16 Rupees.
May 14 – Swamy writes to CBI,
ED Directors to book Sonia and
Rahul in NH case
Figure 62. Swamy writes to CBI, ED to book Sonia, Rahul under PMLA
up his attacks in the National Herald case, BJP leader
S tepping
Subramanian Swamy petitioned to the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) Directors to register cases
against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders under
Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA). In his detailed letter, Swamy said that by illegally floating the
private company Young Indian, Sonia and Rahul grabbed the land allotted
to National Herald newspaper by the Urban Development Ministry (UDM)
on lease.
Urging the two Directors to act against Sonia Gandhi in Prevention of
Corruption Act, Swamy pointed out that during the scam period in
December 2010, she was a public servant as she was holding the Cabinet
Rank as the Chairperson of National Advisory Committee (NAC). The
other accused, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandez were
ruling party Members of Parliament (MP)s and abused power by grabbing
the prime land allotted by the UDM for publication of National Herald
newspaper.
“The land allotted in Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, where the Herald House
stands allotted at concessional rates in this prime area by the Central
Government, was exclusively for publication of newspaper and thus the act
of the accused persons grabbing semi-public property, cheating, criminal
breach of trust and forgery etc, not only are Indian Penal Code (IPC)
offences the of which I am independently pursuing in the Magistrate Court
in Patiala House in New Delhi, but it is clearly also offences under the
Prevention of Corruption Act and PMLA ,” said Swamy in his three page
letter to the CBI and ED Directors.
Swamy accused the previous Directors of CBI and ED of hushing up his
petition, even after trial court had found prima facie fraud and land
grabbing and money laundering of Rs.90 crores involving the Congress
party.
“Moreover, the first accused and prime conspirator Smt. Sonia Gandhi was
holding Cabinet Rank as NAC Chairperson when the crime was allegedly
committed in 2010-11 ,” said Swamy urging to book Sonia Gandhi under
Prevention of Corruption Act in National Herald case.
Subramanian Swamy’s detailed three-page petition to CBI and ED
Directors is published below:
Figure 63. Swamy writes to CBI, ED asks them to investigate NH Money laundering
May 14 – The Doctrine Cy-pres
& NH
Figure 64. The Doctrine Cy-pres & NH
Doctrine of Cy-pres and its scope and
application in National Herald case
petitioner Dr. Subramanian Swamy puts it, National Herald is
A sa Original
multi-dimensional case.
In the history of Independent India, this case will be a landmark for the
finer points of law in which it touches and sails through. It’s a law
practitioner’s delight due to various interfaces of law being involved Company Law, Income Tax, applying real estate, donation of funds in good
olden days and now with donors vanishing into thin air due to passage of
time - left over people absorbing intent of donors to their own intent and
arrangement and legal implications for those transactions extending across
India, allocation of government lands, Transfer of property act, etc.,
Let us examine, one such facet of law namely “Doctrine of Cy-pres” and its
scope and application in National Herald case.
To simply put “Cy Pres” doctrine allows to apply the gift to some other
charitable purpose “as nearly as possible” to resemble the original trusts of
the gift.
Halsbury’s Laws of England, 3rd ed., Vol. 4, page 317, para. 645, expresses
the doctrine as follows. “Where a clear charitable intention is expressed, it
will not be permitted to fail because the mode, if specified, cannot be
executed, but the law will substitute another mode cy-pres, that is, as near
as possible to the mode specified by the donor.”
Facts of National Herald:
1. The Associated Journals Limited (The AJL) was the publisher
of National Herald Newspaper, which was founded under the
chairmanship of Shri Jawahar Lal Nehru
2. The AJL was formally closed and printing of National Herald,
Navjivan and Qaumi Awaz was terminated and thus ceased in
2008. The AJL was at that time under a huge unpaid debt of
Rs.90 crores
3. The AJL borrowed from congress party 90 crores and settled
this debt to others and the revised position as it stands: AJL
owing 90 crores to Congress
4. On 23 November 2010, Young Indian was incorporated as
Section 25 company and its board of directors passed a
resolution to own the outstanding debt of the AJL to Congress
party
5. The AJL board meeting also came to conclusion that it couldn't
discharge the debt it owed to congress party and accordingly
shareholding of the AJL got transferred to Young Indian
6. Young Indian decided that they will take over AJL due of Rs 90
cr loan to congress at a value of Rs.50 lakhs
7. AJL thanked Young Indian for such a gesture and gave them
their 99.99% shares to Young Indian as “consideration.”
To sum up, Congress party paid the outstanding loan of AJL and became its
revised creditor and to discharge this “Congress“ creditor; AJL transferred
its shares to Young Indian for the amount it owed Congress. This
transaction arrangement by itself is a quagmire of corporate structures being
put to use leading to effect that AJL is being bought under the ultimate
control of Young Indian. Congress party discharging the debt was used
landmine to toss up AJL, its assets and shareholders.
The interplay of Doctrine of Cy-pres in National Herald case:
In the event of a Charitable trust being unable to discharge the trust
mandate, it can consider transferring the gifts it received to another trust
which comes near to its objective. The legal character of entities should
closely resemble the objective. In the case of National Herald, objectives of
Young Indian and Associated Journals Limited are not the same. They are
different. Also, Young Indian admitting that it will not engage in publishing
any newspaper including the National Herald makes the case clear that
doctrine of cy-pres is violated.
The application of the doctrine to public charities is explained in Halsbury
at page 317, as follows: “WHERE a clear charitable intention is expressed,
it will not be permitted to fail because the mode, if specified, cannot be
executed, but the law will substitute another mode cy-pres, that is, as near
as possible to the mode specified by the donor ” [43] . Not only is the
doctrine resorted to for the initial application of the fund given to charity,
but also for applying any surplus of capital or income or subsequent
increases thereof: see Halsbury pages 318 and 323. The rule of cy-pres is in
harmony with the teachings of the Hindu Shastras and has been applied to
charitable gifts by Hindus - Muthukrishna Naicken v. Ram chandra Naicken
and others, A.I.R. 1919 Madras 659 (8) [44] .
Referencing the above application of the doctrine of Cy-pres to National
Herald only lead to the further conclusion - This complete transaction is a
sham - Neither the objective was closely linked, nor its funds were applied.
Letting out National Herald properties for rent also denotes borderline
commercial activity. It gives us a hint about thought process which may
have gone through in this transaction evidencing and establishing “mens
rea.”
The doctrine of Cy-Pres is the only mode available under law to transfer
gifts of trust to any other. In the case of National Herald, not only this
doctrine is flouted but also it’s being done by the persons by interplaying
themselves as giver and taker using corporate structures. India is land of
business and trade but trade and business cant' happen within
oneself/masking oneself as other. Where a Company does an act which is
ultra vires, no legal relationship or effect ensues there from. Such an act is
absolutely void and cannot be ratified even if all the shareholders agree.
Ref: Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami ... vs Life Insurance Corporation on 1
December, 1962 1 .
Charitable trusts across worldwide offer enough width and breath for real
estate planning. This case of the National herald is one of the India’s
contribution to global real estate planning in a novel way.
May 24 – HC rejects Motilal
Vo r a ’s p e t i t i o n a g a i n s t E D i n
Money Laundering probe in NH
case
Figure 65. Punjab High Court on has rejected the petition filed by Motilal Vora against ED’s
probe in National Herald
he Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected the petition filed by
Motilal Vora against ED’s probe in National Herald. The HC has told
the Congress Treasurer Motilal Vora that he can approach it for relief if
the Enforcement Directorate tries to arrest him in connection with alleged
money laundering in land allotment to Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
T
The court refused to entertain for now a plea by the 86-year-old national
treasurer of the Congress to restrain the agency from arresting him. “It
appears that there is no intention of ED to arrest him ,” said the division
bench comprising Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar and Justice Anupinder
Singh Grewal said on Tuesday, adding that his prayer for interim relief will
not been taken up at this stage. “In case any attempt is made to arrest him
by ED, he can file an application before the court ,” the bench observed.
The case would now come up for hearing on July 19. Vora had been
questioned by the Enforcement Directorate after he was summoned in his
capacity as the Chairman and Managing Director of the AJL in connection
with alleged irregularities in allotment of the plot to the company, which is
the publisher of the National Herald newspaper, in Panchkula, Haryana, in
2005.
The agency had, last year, filed a criminal complaint and booked former
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, AJL officials and others
on charges of alleged money laundering, taking cognisance of a Haryana
State Vigilance Bureau FIR. Vora and AJL had moved the HC seeking
quashing of the enforcement case investigation report registered by the ED.
The CBI in April this year registered a case of criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, cheating and criminal conspiracy against Hooda, the then
Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) chairman, an ex-officio
post held by him as the CM, and four other top officials of HUDA [45] .
Hooda had termed the action as “political vendetta” and said there was no
wrongdoing. The plot had been initially allotted to AJL in 1982.
After the expiry of the lease period in 1996, the then Haryana Vikas Party
government led by Bansi Lal took back its possession. It was re-allotted to
AJL under the regime of Congress-led by Hooda after the party came to
power in 2005.
It was alleged that the act by the then HUDA chairman and the officials had
caused a huge financial loss to HUDA as the plot should have been sold
through open auction instead of being alloted again to AJL.
Recently, Delhi High Court had rejected Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s
petition to stop the Income Tax probe on the funding from Congress party
to Young Indian and AJL [46] . The HC had even asked the Congress leaders
to cooperate with the Income Tax. At one point, the Court said “don’t be so
arrogant” when the Congress lawyer Abhishek Singhvi pressed for sending
notice to Income Tax.
Jul 01 – Swamy applies for
documents for Congress-AJL
money trail
Figure 66. Swamy applies for documents for Congress-AJL money trail
Seeks documents of AJL funding
n Jul 1, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy applied for documents from
Congress party and erstwhile National Herald newspaper publishing
company Associated Journals Limited (AJL) regarding the illegal Rs.90
crores money trail. Swamy also filed the application under Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC) 294 to produce some crucial documents to cross
verify with the accused persons. Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen issued a
notice to Congress leaders in this regard and the next hearing is posted on
July 22. Congress leaders are expected to object to Swamy’s demands for
O
documents and production and verification of such documents.
Figure 67. More scams in INC's backyard
The majority of the documents Swamy demanded were from AJL and
Congress party regarding the illegal transaction of Rs.90 crores. For the past
one year, Congress leaders have been vehemently objecting to this demand
as it is a known secret that there are no such documents for this illegal or
under-the-table deal of Rs.90 crores1 . Even though Congress leaders claim
that they have financed the AJL in the interest of protecting “Secularism
and Nehruvian thoughts”, the law bans a political party to give loans for
commercial operations to a company like AJL.
Figure 68. And one more, Bofors!
When the case started in the afternoon, Congress lawyers tried to put
Swamy on the dock by pointing out that the BJP leader was not serving
notices properly. They pointed out that in the previous hearing on May 15,
the Court had directed Swamy to provide applications in 15 days and
Swamy had served notices only today. In his usual style, Swamy shot back
that he was trying to serve the applications to Congress side for many days
and not found any of them as most of them were abroad. Sensing that
Swamy was trying to poke the main accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi, Congress leaders did not go further.
The application under CrPC 294 is a headache for Congress leaders. This
application allows Swamy to produce documents and cross verify with the
accused. This is expected to be Swamy’s move to cut down the time
consumption during the trial and agreeing for the cross verification of
documents by Swamy would lead to the early admission of guilt in the case.
So, it is expected that in the next hearing on July 22, Congress lawyers will
oppose this applications tooth and nail.
Legal experts point out that Congress wanted to start the trial by crossexamining Swamy and delaying for a long time and Swamy’s idea is to
bring documents on record first and cut short the crossing by the accused.
As documents are verified first, much of the evidence is placed on record,
leading to reduced trial time. They point out that when the documents are
placed, half of the case is over, and Swamy’s intention is to bring
documents on records first to prove the major crux of the politically
sensitive case.
Congress is now in a “damned if they do and damned if they don’t ”
situation.
Aug 05 – Congress objects to
supply of documents
Figure 69. Congress objects to supply of documents
Swamy produces documents to verify with
them
ational Herald case reaches a turning point on August 5, after Senior
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy produced 24 documents for the
verification of the accused under Section 294 of CrPC. Congress
leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others that are accused, objected
to Swamy’s earlier petition to produce pertinent documents on the money
N
trail from Congress and newspaper publishing company Associated Journal
Limited (AJL). Swamy’s move to produce documents by him and verify
with the accused is a nightmare for the Congress leaders.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 23. Congress
leaders, as usual, are expected to object to Swamy’s new strategy of
verification of the documents produced by him. Swamy produced 24 crucial
documents of Congress, AJL and Sonia Rahul controlled Young Indian
linking the illegal Rs.90 crore routing from the party to capture the assets of
AJL. He also produced the decades' long agreements of land allotments to
AJL in Bihar, Delhi, and Haryana.
Responding to Swamy’s earlier petition for production Congress repeated
that Swamy is trying to delay the legal process and with the hidden agenda
to hoist more cases. The 12-page reply by the Congress leaders said
Swamy’s demands are “yet another ploy to delay the proceedings in the
case and not move forward according to the procedure laid by the law.”
Congress leaders said Swamy has “ulterior motives behind to move
multiple applications seeking documents.” Citing out Swamy’s styles in the
conducting the Congress leaders said that he is trying to create more cases
and petitions and trying to delay and link with other cases like CBI FIR
against former Haryana Chief Minister BS Hooda and later withdrawing the
petition.
Congress party even objected to Swamy’s demand of producing their
Balance Sheets and accounts during 2010-2012, the scam period. Many
party insiders say the party did not reflect the Rs.90 crores transfer to AJL
and producing these accounts would be a real boomerang for the Congress
leadership, as Swamy would next prefer case under Prevention of Money
Laundering Act.
The latest strategic step of Swamy by producing the Photostat copies of
Congress and AJL documents and get it verified from the accused side
under CrPC 294 is a real tension for Congress leaders, as it would directly
lead to the admission of the guilt.
After the court proceedings, Swamy tweeted:
Figure 70. NH case at a threshold
Aug 21 – Magistrate son
t e r m i n a t e d . I s t h e f a t h e r,
J u s t i c e V P Va i s h i n t r o u b l e
too?
Figure 71. Magistrate son terminated. Is the father, Justice V P Vaish in trouble too?
Son'sdismissal could mean trouble for the
M e g h a l a y a H i g h C o u r t J u d g e V P Va i s h
the Delhi High Court terminating the services of Metropolitan
W ith
Magistrate Nitesh Gupta, his father Justice Ved Prakash Vaish, now in
Meghalaya High Court may be in trouble too. As per the reports, a few
days ago, the Delhi High Court terminated the services of the newly
recruited Magistrate Nitesh Gupta for finding Rs.5.73 crores in his accounts
. His claim that this amount was an “interest-free loan” from somebody
was found to be unsatisfactory. It is a genuine question as to how Rs.5.73
crores came into the account of a young Magistrate, who recently joined the
service. Nitesh Gupta’s selection as a Magistrate was also controversial
when his father Justice V P Vaish was a Judge in the Delhi High Court.
There were allegations of nepotism in the selection process.
[47]
Father V P Vaish, who started his career in the Delhi District Courts, was
the Registrar General of Delhi High Court, before being selected as a High
Court Judge in Delhi High Court in April 2013, during the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure. Justice V P Vaish’s actions in the
politically sensitive National Herald case was c ontroversial. In August
2014, he stayed the trial court order of summoning Sonia Gandhi, Rahul
Gandhi, and other Congress leaders. After sitting on the case for about six
months, all of a sudden Justice Vaish recused himself from the case without
giving any reason in January 2015 [48] .
During this period in December 2014, Justice Vaish took a controversial
decision by quashing the CBI trial of Sonia Gandhi’s Private Secretary
Vincent George [49] . BJP leader Subramanian Swamy wrote to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi urging him to direct the CBI to appeal against this
controversial decision, which has not yet been acted upon.
Anyway, Justice Vaish was soon transferred to Meghalaya High Court in
May 2016. Now his son, a Magistrate in Delhi Courts is terminated for
finding unexplainable money. Father Justice V P Vaish can’t evade from
this shameful incident in Judiciary. There were talks in legal circles that the
father may resign as an escape route. Being a High Court Judge, the only
punishment as per the Constitution is Impeachment by Parliament. That has
to be moved forward by political parties. Will they move Impeachment
Motion against Justice V P Vaish? Or like in the case of errant Judge Justice
Karnan, will Supreme Court remove him from judicial duties? The Supreme
Court can only remove him from Judicial duties and post him in some
administrative duties. Only Parliament can act through an impeachment
motion by terminating his services. Will political parties act? Or will they
make noise and delay the actual impeachment proceedings, giving enough
time for V P Vaish to exit by resigning?
The Modi government, by firing a Magistrate has given a strong message to
the judiciary. Those who are caught red handed with unexplained income
will be named, shamed, and thrown out. This will instil fear in the hearts of
the corrupt judges who permeate the system at every level in India.
Oct 22 – Swamy praises PM
Modi on fight against
Corruption, lists out 7 crucial
cases on which CBI is not
acting
Figure 72. Swamy Praises PM Modi on Fight against Corruption
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy blamed
S enior
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India, for the delay in action
in major seven cases of corruption by the agency probes including the
Aircel-Maxis, National Herald, and Robert Vadra cases. In a letter to the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swamy listed the seven cases and inaction
by the CBI for the past several months.
Swamy pointed out that CBI has not yet moved an inch in the National
Herald case land grabbing by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi under
Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), even after many courts up to Supreme
Court has taken cognisance of the ongoing case filed by him. He said that
apart from Sonia and Rahul, other Directors of Young Indian such as
Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes were Members of the Parliament (MPs)
when grabbing the Herald House property leased by the Ministry of Urban
Development.
“In the National Herald case, in which prosecution in my Private
Complaint case, the CBI has to register a case under Prevention of
Corruption Act against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora and
Oscar Fernandez who all are MPs. The Enforcement Directorate (ED)
thereafter can attach all the illegally acquired properties of the Associated
Journals Private Limited ,” he said.
He blamed the CBI for not acting fast against former Finance Minister P
Chidambaram’s family. Swamy said that CBI delayed the probe in Aircel
Maxis case involving Chidambaram and son Karti and urged immediate
custodial interrogation. He also said that CBI has not yet acted against
Chidambaram’s wife Nalini in Sarada Chit Fund Scam.
“In the Sarada Chit Fund case, the main accused have mentioned Nalini
Chidambaram as having received illegal pecuniary benefits and
gratification. Yet she has yet to be summoned and questioned ,” said Swamy
in a two-page letter. The letter of Swamy is published at the end of this
report.
The Senior BJP leader also pointed out that CBI is going very slow in the
land grabbing cases against Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra.
Another case he said was the CBI delay in the probe against former
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda in the illegal land allotment to
National Herald in Panchkula.
“The cases of Moin Qureshi and the Agusta Westland corruption have not
proceeded at all, besides sensational media publicity ,” said Swamy urging
Prime Minister to direct CBI for speedy and fast action in these seven
corruption cases.
Subramanian Swamy’s letter to Prime Minister on CBI delays in seven
crucial corruption cases is published below:
Figure 73. Swamy writes to PM urges CBI action
Nov 18 – Sonia & Rahul reject
cross verification of documents,
allegeSwamyisdelaying
Figure 74. Are Sonia & Rahul hiding documents?
National Herald case on Saturday in the
Patiala Court
providing their own documents or getting ready to testify,
W ithout
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi accused senior BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy of trying to delay the case by asking for a
series of documents.
For the past two years, Congress leaders are not providing any documents
of their party’s funding to Associated Journal Limited (AJL) or the accounts
of AJL or Young Indian or the Congress party which itself exposes the scam
[50]
. After hearing the objection of the leaders Metropolitan Magistrate
Ambika Singh posted the case on January 20 for further arguments.
Puncturing Congress leaders repeated objections in producing their own
documents, Subramanian Swamy, in the previous hearing made an
application under Section 294 of CrPC. As per this Swamy can produce
those documents and Congress leaders can be asked to cross verify these
documents. This was a nightmare to the Congress leadership as these
documents will boomerang on them and can cut short many procedures in
the trial. On November 18, sensing this lethal way, Congress leaders argued
that Swamy is trying to delay the process by moving many petitions while
withdrawing many of his earlier petitions.
“This exercise undertaken by the complainant to file multiple applications,
choosing to withdraw some and further choosing to change the relief sought
in one by replacing it with another is nothing but an absolute disregard for
the precious time of this court and of the larger judicial process ,” said
Sonia and Rahul in their counter arguments on Swamy’s petition under
Section 294 of CrPC for cross verification of National Herald case
documents. The leaders sought dismissal of Swamy’s application while
keeping silence on the production of their own documents or cross
verification of their own documents produced by Swamy.
The BJP leader had filed a set of documents of around 450 pages relating to
the Congress party, National Herald and others before the court, seeking a
response from the accused as to whether these were correct.
2018
Jan 01 – Fight against
corruption must be one of the
m a i n N e w Ye a r R e s o l u t i o n s o f
PMModi
Figure 75. Act now against the corrupt PM Modi
ear Prime Minister,
D We are now entering 2018. Looking back, the year 2017 had a dismal
track record on Government’s promised fight against corruption, basically
due to lethargy and internal sabotages to save the corrupt in the really big
cases. The shocking judgment in the 2G Scam case has created doubts in
the minds of common man that anything is possible [51] and the venal are
beginning to think that they can get away with anything (in one case even
murder)! Nothing can explain the inordinate delays in the corruption cases
involving the Sonia family in the National Herald case, and Robert Vadra in
the land grabbing case.
The probes into Chidambaram family’s corruption cases [52] like the AircelMaxis scam, INX-media bribery case and illegal assets amassed in 14
countries and Ahmed Patel family’s case involving the Sterling Biotech and
Sandesara Group companies are moving at a glacial pace [53] . A similar
lethargic attitude by the probe agencies is also seen in the various cases
against NDTV.
Dear Prime Minister, given below is the status of the probe in each of the
high-flying cases mentioned above.
Sonia family:
National Herald case:
Still the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate
(ED), Income Tax and the Urban Development Ministry have not yet
moved an inch in this case involving land grabbing in major cities worth
more than Rs.5000 crores by Sonia and Rahul. From trial court to Delhi
High Court to Supreme Court, all have ratified the illegalities prima facie
and the accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders
are now out on bail and facing trial in the private case filed by BJP leader
Subramanian Swamy. What prevents the CBI, ED, Income Tax and Union
Urban Development Ministry, State Governments of Maharashtra, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh to act on the massive land grab and bank loan
jugglery in the name of media operations by these top Congress leaders?
Only Haryana Government initiated action [54] and handed over the case to
CBI, which is still sitting on the case. As a private complainant
Subramanian Swamy has many limitations in providing all the proof and
undertaking all the legal proceedings. It is time for Government agencies to
do their duty in National Herald scam, which is ratified in all legal forums
and the trial is going on.
Va d r a l a n d g r a b b i n g :
For the past three years CBI, ED and Income Tax are beating around the
bush in the massive land grabbing and money laundering cases related to
Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra [55] . People have started losing
faith in the Government’s attitude on the fight regarding high profile
corruption cases. There is a general perception among the people that
politicians at the top in all parties do under- the-table dealings due to the
delay in Vadra probe and other cases.
Chidambaram family cases:
The obscene delays in the Aircel Maxis and INX Media bribe cases probe
are really testing the patience of the common man. Chidambaram’s son
Karti is now openly defying summons of CBI and ED and the delay by the
agencies have provided ample room for him to drag it to the courts. There is
no excuse for the inaction, including the arrest of Karti for not appearing
before agencies. Further, Government agencies have still not started to
register cases under the Black Money Act and Benami Act for illegally
amassing properties in 14 countries and 21 undeclared foreign bank
accounts by the members of Chidambaram family [56] . It is an open secret
that many top people in the Finance Ministry are trying to hush up the cases
against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s family [57] .
Ahmed Patel family cases:
Ahmed Patel’s family is now caught in the Rs.5000 crores bank loan fraud
involving Sterling Biotech and Sandesara Group of companies. The ED
officers such as Rajeshwar Singh are facing all kinds of hardships from the
corrupt lobby and friends of Chidambaram and Ahmed Patel after the
registration of these high-profile cases. It is time you read out the riot act to
the babus that their loyalties are first and foremost, to the country and
anyone indulging in acts of sabotage should be dealt with severely.
NDTV cases:
India’s premier peddler of fake news, NDTV, is caught by CBI, ED and
Income Tax and still the cases move at a pace that can only be described as
turtle-like [58] . Even after having been provided proof of the massive
rigging by the NDTV promoters in Stock Exchanges, the Regulator
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has not yet acted due to the
interference of NDTV-friendly people in the Finance Ministry [59] .
Controversial 2G trial court judgment:
The government must ensure the immediate appeal and day-to-day basis
arguments in the Delhi High Court to bring justice in the 2G Scam trial
court judgment, which acquitted all the corrupt persons. This trial court
judgment, ignoring all the concrete evidence of money trail and findings of
the Supreme Court shows the handiwork of corrupt elements who manage
to ensure outcomes to their liking [60] .
Dear Prime Minister, in the light of above-stated facts, I and everyone at
Team PGurus urge you to evolve a clear strategy on a war footing to fight
corruption, as promised by you to the electorate.
Wishing you a nice 2018 ahead.
J a n 2 0 – I n c o m e Ta x f i x e s
S o n i a - R a h u l f i r m Yo u n g I n d i a n
for Rs.414 crores gains from NH
frauds. Calls Congress Rs.90
crores loan claim “bogus”
Figure 76. IT calls Congress Rs.90 crores loan claim “bogus”
Income Tax Department (ITD) exposes the blatant lies , frauds
T heincluding
hawala operations and land grabbing committed by Congress
leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi controlled firm Young Indian in the
National Herald case.
The ITD declared that the Congress’ claim of giving Rs.90-crores ($14
million) loan to the National Herald newspaper publishing company
Associated Journal Limited (AJL) was a “totally bogus” claim to facilitate
Gandhi family-controlled company Young Indian to dubiously take over the
ownership of the lands and buildings across India. The 105-page Income
Tax Assessment Order has declared that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi controlled
Young Indian’s actual taxable income is more than Rs.414 crores ($65
million) and cancelled the firm’s tax exemption certificate. As per this
Assessment Order dated December 27, 2017, served to Young Indian the
previous week, the company is liable for tax evasion for the concealment of
income of more than Rs.414 crores. According to tax experts, the
concealment of income attracts fine in the range of 100% to 300% and
prosecution for concealing the income.
The Assessment Order dated December 27 served to the Young Indian was
produced by main petitioner and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy before
the New Delhi Metropolitan Magistrate Ambika Singh on Saturday
afternoon to prove that his complaints and findings against all the accused
are totally ratified by the Income Tax department. After assessing the Fair
Market Values of the properties of AJL in New Delhi, Mumbai’s Bandra
region, Lucknow, Panchkula in Haryana and Patna, the Assessment Order
says the Young Indian literally owns the land and building assets of more
than Rs.2000 crores.
Income Tax in its detailed Assessment Order described the takeover of
erstwhile National Herald newspaper publishing company AJL by Young
Indian as a premeditated scheme of tax evasion, adventure, fraudulent,
involved in hawala nature activities etc.
“However, during the course of assessment proceedings, many
opportunities were allowed to the assessee (Young Indian) as well as the
representatives of the AICC to prove the date and mode of transfer of loan
amounting to Rs.90.21 crores to the AJL,” said Income Tax department,
adding that Congress leaders including its Treasurer Motilal Vora did not
cooperate and raised objections several times [61] . The IT Department also
produced Vora’s letters accusing the Assessing Officer for political bias for
seeking the details of the Rs.90 crore loan claim to National Herald. In
some letters, Vora warns the Assessing Officer that he would face
prosecution and has no power to investigate these matters.
“In order to fulfil the objective of acquiring 100 percent shares of the AJL,
one of the majority shareholder of the assessee (Young Indian), Rahul
Gandhi along with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had purchased an
additional 47,513 and 2,62,411 shares through Rattan Deep Trust and
Janhit Nidhi Trust respectively [62] without complying with the provisions of
the Companies Act ,” said Income Tax in detail saying that Congress claim
of giving Rs.90 crore loan to AJL was wrong and this wrong claim was
mooted to take over the land assets of AJL by floating a new company
called Young Indian.
“As early as in the beginning of the year 2008 it was decided to close down
the business of printing and publishing the newspaper by the AJL with the
oblique purpose to make commercial use of the business assets of the AJL
(commercial property located in posh areas of Delhi, Patna, Panchkula,
Mumbai, Lucknow) acquired by it from the Central/ State Governments for
publishing newspaper at ridiculously low prices...
“Important office bearers of the AICC namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi,
Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes and AJL controlled by Motilal Vora and
Oscar Fernandes have devised the scheme involving pre-ordinate artificial
and fraudulent steps to take over AJL. The objective of the scheme was twofold, one to obtain valuable benefits embodied in business assets of the AJL
and two, to not pay any tax on business income of earning such benefit.
“The scheme has included a fraudulent transaction involving purchases of a
non-existent loan of Rs.90.21 crores by AICC to AJL for a paltry sum of Rs.
50 lakhs ($78,000) by the assessee (Young Indian) company .”
The Income Tax Order also said that Young Indian receiving Rs. One crore
($156,000) from a Kolkata based company Doltex is nothing but a hawala
transaction [63] .
“The competent authority after making enquiry has held that the assessee
company (Young Indian) had not carried out any activity in accordance
with its charitable object and has cancelled the tax exemption enjoyed by
the assessee company by passing an order under section 12AA(3) of the Act
on December 26, 2017. In view of the above, the business income of the
Rs.413,40,55,980 earned by the assessee (Young Indian) during year under
consideration was not subject to tax exemption .”
The Assessment Order said that 44 opportunities spanning 890 days were
given to Congress leaders and Young Indian company to prove their claims.
The Income Tax also re-produced Motilal Vora’s letter to the Assessing
Officer, accusing him of political bias and wide range of allegations when
documents were sought for the party’s claim of giving a Rs.90 crores loan.
National Herald publication was stopped in 2008 and the publishing
company AJL was taken over by Young Indian in December 2010. Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul have 38 percent shares each in the newly floated Young
Indian. Gandhi family’s trusted Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar
Fernandes have 12 percent shares each. The family’s close aides Sam
Pitroda and Suman Dubey are also the Directors and first promoters of the
Young Indian. In the case filed by Subramanian Swamy, all these six
persons and Young Indian are accused and currently out on bail from
December 2015 [64] . Swamy approached the Metropolitan Magistrate’s
court in February 2013 and taking cognizance of the office, the Court had
summoned the Congress leaders. Though the Congress leadership went to
Delhi High Court and Supreme Court against the trial court’s summons,
however, it did not get relief. The Courts pronounced that they must face
trial. After the trial court’s summons in July 2014, the Income Tax had
issued notice to Young Indian and Congress and AJL for the controversial
Rs.90-crore loan.
The Magistrate directed to put the documents in a sealed cover. Swamy also
produced the documents produced by Sonia Gandhi in the Supreme Court
(SC) in a Special Leave Petition for National Herald. Swamy said these
were the documents he wanted and said he wanted Sonia to testify these
documents or face perjury if documents placed in the SC were wrong. Next
hearing in this case is adjourned for March 17.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.03 Rupees.
Jan 22 – Read 105-page Income
Ta x A s s e s s m e n t O r d e r a g a i n s t
Yo u n g I n d i a n e x p o s i n g R s . 4 1 4
crores gain
Figure 77. 105-page Income Tax Assessment Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414
crores gain
n public interest, we have decided to publish the entire 105-page Income
Tax Assessment Order against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi
controlled company Young Indian. This Assessment Order proves that
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s National Herald case against the
Congress leadership is totally factual.
I
This Assessment Order published below this article establishes the
following:
1. As per the Assessment Order dated December 27, 2017,
Income Tax Department (ITD) found that Congress party’s
claim of giving Rs.90 crores loan to National Herald newspaper
publishing company Associated Journal Limited (AJL) was
totally bogus and a fraud engineered by the Gandhi family.
Figure 78. Did Pidi deliver it at Swamy's door?
2. The ITD charges that Young Indian concealed taxable income
of more than Rs.414 crores. So as per Income Tax Act, the fine
for the concealed taxable income ranges between 100 to 300%
and criminal prosecution for such concealment.
Figure 79. Or was it the newspaper delivery man?
3. The fake loan theory of Rs.90 crores was engineered to grab
the properties of National Herald newspaper in Delhi, Mumbai,
Patna, Lucknow, Panchkula in Haryana and Bhopal, worth
more than Rs.2000 crores by the Gandhi family-controlled
company. All these properties in plush localities of these cities
were allotted on lease for publishing newspapers by Central
and State Governments at a paltry sum. Floating a new
company called Young Indian was to grab these assets.
4. The Assessment Order shows that 44 opportunities spanning
890 days were given to the Directors of Young Indian and
Congress leadership. It also shows that Congress leadership
including Motilal Vora tried to accuse the Income Tax officers,
rather than give answers.
5. The Order also shows that Priyanka Vadra was also part of the
dubious deals to control the National Herald publishing
company AJL.
6. The allotment of more than three lakh shares of AJL to
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka was a
violation of Companies Act too.
7. Young Indian receiving Rs.1 crore from a Kolkata based
company Doltex was nothing but a hawala transaction
involving money laundering.
8. Young Indian and AJL Directors Motilal Vora and Oscar
Fernandez and Gandhi family aides Suman Dubey and Sam
Pitroda acted dubiously to facilitate the grabbing of Rs.2000
crores worth assets of National Herald by Young Indian’s
controlling Directors Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The options before the Congress leadership are to file an appeal against this
Assessment Order before the Income Tax Commissioner and then in the
Income Tax Tribunal. After this, an appeal can be filed in High Court and
Supreme Court. This Assessment Order also shows that Congress
leadership had approached the Delhi High Court to stop the Income Tax
from assessing and the petition was rejected.
A link to the 105-page Income Tax Assessment Order against Young Indian
is published in Appendix 4.
Jan 24 – The silence of
C o n g re s s o n t h e I n c o m e Ta x
Assessment Order in NH case is
deafening
Figure 80. The silence of Congress in the IT assesment report in Young Indian is surprising
Why is Congress observing Maun vrat?
he silence being maintained by the Congress party and its leadership for the
past five days after the exposé of Income Tax Assessment Order (ITAO)
against Young Indian (YI) is deafening. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
together own about 76% of Young Indian, an entity they established to
grab the assets of Associate Journals Limited [65] . The Assessment Order
dated December 27, 2017, was revealed by the main petitioner and BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy in a trial court on January 20, 2018, to prove
that his charges in the criminal case have been ratified by the Income Tax
department.
T
Congress leadership must have received the ITAO dated December 27 at
least by the first week of January. The Order clearly states the Congress
claim of giving Rs.90 crores loan to Associated Journal Limited (AJL) a
complete lie. It also asserts that this blatant lie was engineered to grab the
Rs.2000 crores assets by the Gandhi family who floated a new company
called Young Indian. The Order says that Young Indian has concealed a
taxable income of Rs.414 crores. This means that Young Indian has to pay a
fine ranging from 100 to 300% of the concealed Income and YI’s directors
will have to face criminal prosecution. As of December 28, 2017, the
Directors of Young Indian, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, trusted National
Secretary Oscar Fernandes, Party Treasurer Motilal Vora and Gandhi
family’s close aides Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda have to face criminal
prosecution for this big fraud aimed at grabbing the Rs.2000 crores worth
real estate assets in Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Lucknow, Panchkula in Haryana
and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
Is it the shock of being found out or has the proverbial cat got Congress’s
tongue? Slowly but steadily, a chorus of media has started reporting on this
revelation, but Congress is unresponsive. The usual tactic of blaming the
Government for using the Income Tax Department as a tool for political
vendetta is missing this time around.
In public interest, PGurus has published the entire 105 pages of the Income
Tax Order exposing the loot of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi firm Young Indian
[66]
. More than a lakh people have visited this site in the past 24 hours,
while many in the mainstream media (MSM) were keeping a studied
silence.
With the normal response of lashing out not in show, what exactly is
cooking in the kitchen of the Congress leadership? Should the silence be
construed as assent? The nation wants to know.
Mar 19 – Delhi HC orders
Yo u n g I n d i a n t o d e p o s i t R s
1 0 . c r i n I n c o m e Ta x re c o v e r y
notice of Rs.250 crores
Figure 81. Delhi HC orders Young Indian to pay Rs.10 crores first in thier petion against the IT
oerder
n a big setback to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald
case, the Delhi High Court (HC) on Monday directed their company
Young Indian to deposit Rs.10 crores ($1.67 million) first in their petition
I
against Income Tax (IT) recovery notice of Rs.249.15 crores. The bench of
Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla directed the company to deposit
half the amount with the Income Tax department before March 31 and the
remaining Rs.5 crores by April 15th.
The High Court said that subject to the deposit of the amount, the tax
authorities shall not enforce the demand of Rs.249.15 crores made on the
company for the assessment year 2011-12. The High Court also sought the
IT department's response to Young Indian's (YI) plea challenging the
demand and the proceedings emanating from it and listed the matter for
further hearing on April 24.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for Young Indian, told the court
that it will have extreme difficulty in raising Rs.10 crores and sought the
amount to be fixed at Rs.7.5 crores. He said that the amount was being
collected from contributions by individuals and it would, therefore, be
tough to get more money. He also urged the bench to allow the company to
deposit the amount in court, saying it was extremely difficult to get a refund
from the IT department.
Advocate Ashish Jain, representing the IT department, opposed the oral
pleas made on YI's behalf and said the company had to actually deposit
Rs.49 crores, 20 percent of the demand, for its appeal to be heard. The
bench refused to grant both the pleas made orally on behalf of Young Indian
and directed it to deposit Rs.10 crores with the IT department. The High
Court also directed the tax authorities to expeditiously hear YI's appeal
against the assessment order.
On December 27, 2017, the Income Tax Department’s Assessment Order
found that Young Indian had hushed up a taxable income of more than
Rs.414 crores ($40 million) [67] . While Congress leadership has kept silent
on this devastating Income Tax Order exposing the frauds in the National
Herald case [68] , after some weeks, BJP leader and main petitioner
Subramanian Swamy produced a copy of this Income Tax Order in the trial
court [69] . Even the advocates representing Sonia and Rahul were unaware
of this Income Tax Order.
The IT department has declared that Congress party’s claim of giving Rs.90
crore loans to the newspaper was a total sham and a wrong claim to
facilitate Gandhi family-controlled company Young Indian to dubiously
take over the ownership of the lands and buildings across India. The 105page Income Tax Assessment Order has declared that Sonia and Rahul
Gandhi controlled Young Indian’s actual taxable income is more than
Rs.414 crores and canceled the firm’s tax exemption certificate.
The Income Tax, in its detailed Assessment Order described the takeover of
erstwhile National Herald newspaper publishing company Associated
Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian as a “premeditated scheme of tax
evasion”, adventure, fraudulent, involved in hawala nature activities etc.
After this order, IT fined and issued a recovery notice for Rs.249.15 crores
($40 million) from Young Indian. The company controlled by Sonia and
Rahul with 76 percent shares, has approached the High Court seeking a
direction to stay the recovery of the demand of tax and interest of Rs 249.15
crores, raised following a notice of December 27, 2017, issued under
section 156 of the I-T Act for the assessment year 2011-12.
It has also challenged the order of the IT authorities rejecting the firm's
application and sought a stay on the direction to pay Rs.49.83 crores ($8
million), that is 20 per cent of the total disputed outstanding demand.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 65 Rupees.
Mar 28 – Why is Congress quiet
on the IT fine of Rs.249.15
crores?
Figure 82. Why is Congress quiet on the IT fine of Rs.249.15 crores?
loquacious Congress party has been keeping a stony silence
T onhe normally
the Demand Notice of Income Tax (IT) Department, levying a fine of
Rs.249.15 crores ($38.4 million) on Young Indian. PGurus have
accessed the three-page Income Tax Demand Notice and it shows that the
tax notice was dated December 27, 2017, giving them up to 30 days to
appeal. This notice was sent by the tax department on Young Indian for
hushing up taxable income to the tune of Rs.414 crores ($63.8 million).
The 105-page Assessment Order came in the public domain only after the
petitioner and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy placed this document in the
trial court in his private case on January 20, 2018 [70] . Even the lawyers
representing Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were caught off-guard by this
stunning document exposing more frauds in the National Herald case (see
Figure 83).
Figure 83. YI hushed up income
Even after Swamy’s exposé, the Congress leadership has kept silent. Now it
is proved that both the IT Assessment Order and the Demand Notice of
Rs.249.15 crores were issued on December 27, 2017. This fine came in the
public domain only on March 19, 2018, when Young Indian approached the
Delhi High Court against Income Tax. The tax sleuths demanded Rs.49
crores deposit to entertain the appeal against the Tax demand of Rs.249.15
crores. The three-page Income Tax Demand Notice is produced at the end
of this article.
In Delhi High Court, Congress leaders pleaded that they have no money.
Young Indian was represented by noted tax lawyer Arvind Datar. The
Bench comprising Justices Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla ordered Young
Indian to deposit Rs.10 crores ($1.54 million) to entertain their first appeal
to Commissioner of Income Tax [71] . As per the order, Young Indian has to
deposit Rs. Five crores ($0.77 million) before March 31 and the balance has
to be deposited by April 15.
Young Indian was controversially floated by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi in late 2010 to take over the more than Rs.2000 crores-worth
($308.2 million) land and building assets of the defunct National Herald
newspaper publishing company Associated Journals. The mother and son
are Directors and are having 38 percent shares each in Young Indian. Their
trusted persons and Congress leaders Oscar Fernandez and Motilal Vora
each have 12 percent shares in this company, which is now facing
Rs.249.15 crores tax dues. The Sonia family’s close aides Suman Dubey
and Sam Pitroda are also Directors of this controversial firm [72] .
The question is the continued silence of Congress leadership on one of the
biggest Income Tax dues. Is Sonia Gandhi thinking of doing some deals to
hush-up the Income Tax notice with certain pliable persons in Government?
Why else would Ministry of Finance not allow the Enforcement Directorate
(ED) to register a case of money laundering in National Herald? The
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also not been allowed to register
a case of land grabbing, of land allotted to National Herald by Young
Indian. Maharashtra Government is yet to act on the report of the land
grabbed in Bandra [73] . The only action came from Haryana Government [74]
, and we are seeing so many hit jobs against the Chief Minister Manohar
Lal Khattar from several quarters and also by a section of the DynastySlave media houses. These entities create outrage against him and seek his
resignation at the drop of a hat. Is this stony silence a plot to make some
sort of a deal to hush-up the huge tax dues of Rs.249.15 crores?
PGurus accessed the below published three-page Income Tax Demand
notice from the more than 300-page petition of Congress in the Delhi High
Court:
Figure 84. Income Tax letter to YI
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.89 Rupees.
Mar 31 – Is Kapil Sibal dillydallying on answering the
allegations of controversial
company purchase and l and
acquisition?
Figure 85. Is Kapil Sibal dilly-dallying on answering a simple question?
Y
esterday – March 30 – Congress leader and noted lawyer Kapil Sibal
conducted a Press Conference. It was expected that Sibal would be
replying to the allegations aired against him by Union Minister Smriti
Irani on the report published by the website OpIndia on the controversial
acquiring of a company for just a few lakh rupees and getting land worth
Rs.89 crores ($13.7 million) [75] .
Here is the 38-minute-long video of Sibal’s press conference [76] . Sibal
spent most of the time on the Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) exam paper leak and Justice Chelameshwar’s letter. The rest was
his usual rhetoric against the Prime Minister and the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). During the QA (Question and Answer)
session, two questions came up on the allegations against him on the
dubious acquisition of the company and his links with controversial
businessmen, the Gupta brothers of South Africa. In two minutes Sibal
closed the chapter by quoting a South African newspaper which said that
they “found no money laundering or fraud practices by Sibal .” And to the
second question of filing a case against OpIndia report, Sibal quipped that
he will decide when and what and how to do.
Does this mean that Sibal has something to hide or he doesn’t want to
discuss the subject? This is typical Sibal style. If there was any wrong or
fault in the report of OpIndia website or subsequent allegations and
questions raised by Smriti Irani, Sibal would have put on a show of
spectacular dimensions, countering them. His response felt more like a
whimper than the roar of a lion.
The OpIndia article written Nupur J Sharma is very clear - In February
2017, Sibal and wife purchased a company for few lakhs of rupees 1 . This
company was formerly owned by South Africa based controversial Indian
origin businessmen and by the purchase of this company at a throwaway
price, Sibal and wife became the owners of the company’s plush property in
Delhi worth about Rs.89 crores.
Being the lead Advocate of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in National
Herald case, to put it satirically, the Advocate Sibal appears to have learned
the art from his clients. The National Herald case, in a nutshell, is that Sonia
and Rahul Gandhi floated a company for just Rs.5 lakhs ($8000) capital and
dubiously became the owners of Rs.2000 crores ($307 million) worth
properties of National Herald newspaper publishing company Associated
Journal Limited (AJL). See the similarities?!
Sibal now relays the South African newspapers’ observation that they found
nothing on Sibal’s money laundering. How can a newspaper find money
laundering, that too from South Africa, on an Indian property? The
newspaper report mainly concentrated on the controversial activities of
South African businessmen the Guptas and Piyoosh Goyal. Meanwhile in
2013, when Sibal was a powerful Minister in UPA-2, handling Telecom,
Law and IT, these Gupta brothers and Piyoosh Goyal were on the radar of
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for bribing the State Bank of
India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda officers. The case reached nowhere as
these persons are harboured safely in South Africa. Now in 2017, their
Indian company is acquired by Sibal and wife at throwaway prices
reminiscent of the National Herald scam.
What is ironic is that when he was arguing for The Wire website in a
defamation case by BJP President Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah, Kapil Sibal
argued that it was the right of journalists to ask questions! Here is a
complete reversal of stand on his part when he says that he will file a case
against OpIndia website for asking questions on his purchase of a company
and getting a high-value land by this purchase.
Sibal’s answers to the South African newspaper were also different at
different times. Instead of making a defamation threat, it would be nice of
Sibal to clear the air on the allegation. We agree that it is his prerogative to
file a defamation suit, but we also need to remind Sibal the basic rule –
Telling the truth is not Defamation.
So, Mr. Sibal, when are you conducting a full-fledged press conference on
these allegations reported by OpIndia website and Union Minister Smriti
Irani? The nation wants to know!
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 65.11 Rupees.
Apr 21 – Congress objects on
agreeing to their own
documents. Arguments to start
on May 5
Figure 86. Arguments to start on May 5
he tricks of Congress leadership in National Herald case is coming to an
end as the trial court has fixed for the final hearing of submission of
documents for May 5. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were evading from
the admission of their own documents filed in National Herald submitted in
High Court and Supreme Court for the past few months. The problem for
Sonia and Rahul is that these documents produced by them in the higher
T
courts prove the case of their illegalities which is now ratified by the
Income Tax Department’s fine of Rs.249 crores [77] .
On Saturday, appearing before the Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal,
petitioner Subramanian Swamy said that the accused Congress leaders
either say Yes or No to the documents submitted by themselves in the
higher courts, that too sworn under oath. These documents expose the scam
in the National Herald newspaper acquisition in covert ways, he said.
Instead of countering Swamy, Congress leaders’ advocates preferred to
bring the printouts of Swamy’s tweets amounting to “defamation” against
Sonia and Rahul. The advocates even brought out the article of PGurus
ReTweeted by Swamy about the Income Tax Assessment Orders [78] . The
advocates argued that these all amount to defamation, rather than avoiding
the boomerang that will happen if they admit a Yes or a No to the
documents submitted by them in the higher courts.
Countering Congress lawyers, Swamy said that these kinds of arguments
cannot go on and on and they have to explicitly admit or deny the truth
about the documents. As Congress leaders were objecting to Swamy’s
demand for production of documents for a long time, Swamy had produced
the copies of the documents of Congress annual returns and documents of
Associated Journal and Young Indian and sought Congress leaders should
either deny or vouch for the authenticity of their own documents.
Apart from this the National Herald case came to a crucial stage after the
Income Tax has slapped fine of Rs.249 crores to Sonia and Rahul controlled
firm Young Indian. The Income Tax Order has proved that Congress claim
of giving loan of Rs.90 crores was a total lie and they had engaged in
hawala kind of money laundering with dubious Kolkata based shell
companies [79] . The Order also said that floating of Young Indian was a
covert operation to usurp the huge land assets of the National Herald
publishing firm Associated Journal.
Congress lawyer’s strategy was to delay the case by straightway crossing
petitioner Subramanian Swamy for a long time. But Swamy’s strategy was
to first bring out the crucial documents in the scam and cut short the
crossing procedures, say legal experts.
With Saturday’s order by the Magistrate’s, both sides have to argue on the
production of the documents in the case. The arguments are to be started on
May 5.
May 06 – Sonia and Rahul
o b j e c t S w a m y ’s d e m a n d f o r
production and admission of
their own documents
Figure 87. Sonia, Rahul object Swamy’s demand for production and admission of their own
documents
ith Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and BJP leader
Subramanian Swamy sparring and accusing each other, the May 5th
hearing of the National Herald case is going to be an indicator of the
forthcoming tussles in the high profile, politically sensitive case. Sonia and
W
Rahul vehemently denied producing the Congress party’s documents and
their company documents as demanded by Swamy and even went to the
extent of neither denying nor confirming their documents produced by the
BJP leader.
Both sides traded charges for delaying the trial. “He wanted to delay the
process and wanted to trade charges against us permanently by coming
with new-new demands ,” said the battery of Congress lawyers led by R S
Cheema, Ramesh Gupta, and Rebecca John. Congress lawyers argued
against Swamy’s demands the whole afternoon of more than two hours with
Swamy intervening in between several times to provoke them. After heated
and tit-for-tat arguments, Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal posted the
case to May 14 and Swamy is expected to start his replies.
“They (Gandhis) had submitted various documents in the Supreme Court.
Now, I am asking them to confront the documents (in this court). The
accused should stop wasting the court's time and either admit or deny these
documents ,” Swamy said, reiterating that Sonia Gandhi should admit or
deny whether these documents were hers.
“Let her just say, these documents were submitted by her in Supreme Court
or deny. If deny I can file another case of perjury or contempt of court. You
have no choice. Either admit or deny ,” Swamy said.
The advocates appearing for the Gandhis, however, told the court that
Swamy was wasting its time and delaying the trial by filing
“unauthenticated documents” in the case. “The applications filed by the
complainant are not proper. The documents which the complainant wants to
be confronted are neither original nor certified. The court cannot even look
at them .”
“Every time when the complainant has to step into the witness box, he files
a new application. Further, he wants summoning of documents but where
are the witnesses who will authenticate them? We will admit or deny the
original documents, not the photocopies. All these documents have been
moved with the purpose to delay the trial and they must be dismissed ,” said
Congress lawyer Ramesh Gupta.
“You just admit or deny is these are the documents you people submitted to
Supreme Court by sworn affidavit. Then let us start the trial ,” reiterated
Swamy.
Regarding Swamy's submissions that he had found certain documents
related to the Income Tax department, lying along with newspapers at his
doorstep, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, quipped that it showed the breach
in his security.
“This is the situation. He (Swamy) is a Z-plus security holder, and nobody is
able to protect his house [80] . Anyone can come and throw something ,”
Gupta said.
“But the same documents of Income Tax, fining your people of Rs. 250
crores are later submitted by you people in Delhi High Court against
Income Tax ,” said Swamy producing the High Court Orders asking
Congress party to pay first Rs.10 crore to appeal against Rs.250 crores fine
on Young Indian [81] , the company owned by Sonia and Rahul. Swamy was
aided by his legal team led by wife Roxna Swamy, Ishkaran Bhandari,
Yatinder Chaudhary and Dilip Kumar.
According to legal experts, Congress leaders wanted to cross examine
Swamy and drag the case out for a long time in crossing and Swamy’s idea
is to bring documents first to cut short the crossing. According to senior
lawyers, for the past one year, Sonia and Rahul are objecting tooth and nail
on Swamy’s demand for production of documents of Congress balance
sheets and accounts of the claim of giving Rs.90 crores to National Herald
newspaper publishing firm Associated Journals and money flow to Young
Indian [82] . Now Income Tax has found that Congress claim of funding AJL
was a total lie and the object of Young Indian floating by Sonia and Rahul
was to dubiously acquire the land assets worth more than Rs.2000 crores
owned by the Associated Journals Limited.
May 14 – Court to pass orders
on May 26 for production of
documents. Congress continues
to object to producing
documents
Figure 88. Court to pass orders on May 26 for production of documents
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and Congress lawyers of Sonia
W ith
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi sparring over the production of documents
in the National Herald case, the trial Court has reserved for passing
orders on this crucial matter in the case for May 26. On Monday, Swamy
insisted that all the documents he sought in the case were produced by
Sonia Gandhi in Supreme Court and she must either admit or deny it and
can’t delay the process by frivolous arguments.
“As per main accused Sonia Gandhi’s affidavit all the originals are with her
and she produced the copy of these documents. I am having her certified
copy. And I also produced the photocopy of the Income Tax Assessment
Order putting fine on Young Indian of Rs.249 crores. They also produced
the same copy before the High Court and the High Court had asked them to
pay Rs.10 crores for entertaining appeal. Now they have to just admit or
deny these documents before this Court, rather than wasting time of this
court ,” said Swamy provoking Congress lawyers by insisting on terming
Sonia Gandhi as accused.
Swamy’s arguments were vehemently objected by Congress lawyers R S
Cheema and Rebecca John who accused Swamy of delaying the process
with frivolous demands. “Most of them are photocopies and there is a lot of
mischief in the petitions ,” they said, arguing that Swamy’s petition for
documents lacks merit.
Swamy said that he will also file to get certified copies of other accused
filed documents in the Supreme Court. “Photocopy or not photocopy. Why
can’t you admit or deny it? The originals are with you only ,” said Swamy.
After 30 minutes of arguments, counter and cross-cross arguments, the
Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal posted for May 26 to pass Orders on
the matter.
May 26 – The Special Court fast
tracks NH trial. Allows Swamy
to produce documents and
summon officials
Figure 89. Did the Congress leadership paint itself into a corner in the case?
two-year-long fierce arguments and counter-arguments for
T heproduction
of documents in the National Herald case between BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy and Congress leadership came to an end on
Saturday, with the Special Court ordering for examination of petitioner
Swamy from July 21 and allowing him to produce the documents and
summoning of officials to authenticate it. Meanwhile, the Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal rejected Swamy’s demand for admit
or deny by the main accused Sonia Gandhi on the documents produced by
him. The newly formed designated court for the trial of MPs and MLAs
was also ordered to complete the trial in the politically sensitive case to be
finished within a year.
Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were
vehemently objecting to Swamy’s demand for production of documents
from 2016. Earlier, the trial court had ordered for production of documents
in January 2016 and High Court has quashed the order citing that the trial
court did not hear the version of the accused before passing the order. After
this Swamy’s fresh petition for summoning documents were rejected by the
court, citing that the demand was very vague and for a large number of
documents and not specific.
Later Swamy made another petition under Section 294 of the Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC) for the admission or denial of documents by the
accused, citing that the same documents he wanted were already produced
by Sonia Gandhi in the Supreme Court. This was considered as a goof-up
by Congress lawyers when Delhi High Court upheld the summoning of
Congress leaders in December 2015. To prevent the trial, the lawyers
approached the Supreme Court and in haste attached many documents
which were self-incriminating, say legal experts. They say Swamy filed a
petition under Section 294 of CrPC to put Sonia Gandhi in a tight spot. If
she admits these documents, she herself admitted the case and if she denies,
then perjury case can be filed, they add.
“The contention of the complainant is that these are the documents of
accused themselves as they were filed along with the Special Leave Petition
filed by one of the accused (Sonia Gandhi) in Supreme Court. Be that as it
may, this will not give a right to the complainant to get these copies
mandatorily admitted or denied by the accused. None of the accused are
stated to be the author of any of these documents. The purpose of Section
294 is to truncate the trial, but this does not mean that rules of evidence can
be compromised with ,” said the Order dismissing Swamy’s demand.
Observing delay for more than two years in the trial, Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal said that after his examination,
Swamy can produce the documents and its authenticity can be verified by
summoning the concerned officials. Apart from the National Herald
newspaper publishing company Associated Journal Limited and Young
Indian firm’s documents, Swamy wanted authentication of crucial Income
Tax Order indicting Sonia and Rahul owned firm Young Indian for hushing
up the taxable income of Rs.415 crores and fining of Rs.249 crores.
This Income Tax Assessment Order clearly exposes the fraud committed by
the top Congress leadership in grabbing the Rs.5000 crores worth land
assets and buildings of Associates Journals Limited (AJL) spread across in
many cities across the country. The Delhi High Court recently ordered that
Young Indian should deposit Rs.10 crores if they wanted to appeal against
the Income Tax fine of Rs.249 crores. The IT Order also exposed that
Congress claim of giving Rs.90 crores loan to AJL was totally wrong.
“In these circumstances, keeping in view of the fact that the trial is getting
delayed, it has to be put back on the right track. Therefore, in order to
streamline this trial, it is directed that the complainant shall first examine
himself as the first witness of the prosecution and shall lay the foundation of
his case. Thereafter, the witnesses, officials or otherwise to prove the
documents by with the complainant further want to prove his case shall be
summoned ,” said the Special Court, fast-tracking the politically sensitive
case.
The 11-page order, by the Addl Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala
House Courts, New Delhi is available as a link in Appendix 5.
Jul 21 – Subramanian Swamy
starts submitting evidence
Figure 90. Swamy starts submitting evidence
ith the petitioner Subramanian Swamy on Saturday starting to submit
evidence, the politically sensitive National Herald case entered a
critical stage. Several times a battery of lawyers for the Congress were
objecting to the points submitted by Swamy when he was giving oral
evidence by stating the crux of the case before the Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal.
W
Swamy informed the Court that he came to know about the irregularities in
running the National Herald newspaper publisher company Associated
Journals Limited (AJL) from the late journalist Bhushan Raina, who was
the union leader of journalists who worked at the newspaper. Raina told him
that journalists were facing salary dues from 2008 onwards.
During the 2011 period, Swamy said he came to know that Sonia Gandhi
and Rahul Gandhi floated the controversial firm Young Indian. He pointed
out that he got curious when Young Indian, a small firm with a capital of
just five lakh rupees acquired Associated Journals Limited, a firm of 71
years of working with huge land assets across the country. Swamy said that
he also noticed that Passport Office and Tata Consultancy office boards also
at the Herald House, located in the Press Enclave Area, ITO in Delhi.
Swamy pointed out that as per the landmark Supreme Court judgment
Indian Express Vs Union of India, this Press Enclave Area is allotted to
newspaper publishing firms by the Government at a very subsidised rate.
“Therefore, I tried to make enquires, how Herald House belonging to AJL
(Associated Journal Limited) could be renting out the premises directly or
indirectly to non-newspaper, commercial or government offices ,” he said.
The petition also said the second accused and Congress President Rahul
Gandhi in an email query to Pioneer newspaper journalist J Gopikrishnan
wrote that they have no plans to revive National Herald newspaper.
Swamy’s this submission was objected to by the Congress lawyers, arguing
that his point is objected on the ground of admissibility.
“Thereafter, I made further enquiries and found that the method by which
AJL ended up as a subsidiary of Young Indian (YI) was most curious ,” said
Swamy. This was also objected to by the Congress lawyers saying this was
only an opinion of Swamy. The BJP leader countered that he would produce
all the documents in the end after submitting his statements as evidence.
Another submission of Swamy accused that Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda
are “undeniably close advisors” of the main accused Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi were vehemently objected to by the Congress lawyers, saying
this was only Swamy’s opinion.
Swamy stated that with just five lakh capital, the newly floated firm Young
Indian had acquired 99.1% of the AJL by a claim of settlement by Young
Indian of dues of Rs.90 crores by AJL to Congress party. He said this is the
crux of the cheating and conspiracy charges in his case and he will produce
all documentary evidence to all the submission of evidence made by him.
After the 30 minutes-long submission, the Court posted the next hearing for
the continuation of evidence to August 25. After Swamy’s submission of
evidence, he will be cross-examined in length by a battery of Congress
lawyers led by Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi representing all the seven
accused.
Jul 21 – Congress leaders file
petition to restrain
Subramanian Swamy from
Tw e e t i n g o n N H
Figure 91. Congress leaders file petition to restrain Swamy from Tweeting on case
he accused Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Motilal
Vora filed a petition to restrain the “uncontrollable” petitioner
Subramanian Swamy from tweeting about the National Herald case
matters. The Congress lawyers filed the petition on Saturday during the
starting day of submission of evidence by Swamy in the main case. The
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal expressed
disinterest on the petition first and later asked Swamy to file his views of
this petition.
T
The petition attached photocopies of many tweets of Swamy calling Sonia
as TDK (short form for Devil Tadaka character in Ramayan) and calling
Rahul Gandhi as Buddhu (foolish guy). The Congress leaders said that
Swamy has crossed all levels in freedom of expression and tweeting of the
case matters is sub-judice.
“That the Applicant has time and again noticed that the complainant has
been putting various posts in Social Media regarding the daily proceedings
of the instant case for purpose of causing defamation of the accused and
vilification of court process... Complainant (Swamy) has been indulging in
loud and persistent publicity amounting to an interference with the
administration of justice. Before and after every date of hearing he
unleashes hostile publicity through tweets, posts in Social Media and/ or
statements to the media ,” said Congress leaders demanding restraining
Swamy from tweeting about the National Herald case.
The accused Congress leaders said that Swamy’s tweets are detrimental to
their rights to a fair trial. “The freedom of expression is an important right,
but such a right is not absolute in as much as the Constitution itself, while it
grants the freedom under Article 19(1)(a), permitted the legislature to
impose reasonable restriction on the right, in the interests of various
matters, one of which is the fair administration of justice as protected by
Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Moreover, when the matter is sub-judice, the
complainant Swamy) has no right to comment on the day-to-day
proceedings and transgress the settled parameters of fair trial ,” said the
three-page petition attaching photocopies of many Swamy’s tweets on
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The petition also pointed out that Swamy had tweeted about the Rs.250
crores Income Tax fine on Young Indian. Congress lawyers argued that this
was wrong on the part of Swamy to place the Income Tax documents,
which were later kept in a sealed cover. The lawyers also produced
Swamy’s Tweeting PGurus article on this regard [83] .
Earlier in Delhi High Court and Supreme Court also the Congress lawyers
produced several tweets of Swamy to argue that Swamy maintains personal
vendetta and animosity against Sonia and Rahul. Judges did not entertain
the production of the tweets. This is the first time Congress leaders file a
petition on this regard.
Coming out from Court, Swamy said that these people (Sonia and Rahul)
are still in Emergency mindset and he will give a fitting reply. Within
minutes Swamy went ahead, showing his anger by tweeting that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi should go for medical checkup after Rahul
Gandhi’s dramatic hugging inside the Lok Sabha on Friday. He said there
would be chances of poisoning though hugging while keeping hidden
syringe.
Figure 92. Swamy suggests NaMo be careful
Earlier in 2011, UPA Government filed a similar petition to restrain Swamy
during the 2G cases before the Supreme Court. The Government produced
newspaper clippings of Subramanian Swamy’s speeches about sending
Sonia Gandhi to jail and urging Italian foods in the menu of jails. The
Judges dismissed the petition with a smile after the argument of Central
Government’s lawyer P P Rao, who repeatedly sought “need of some sort of
restriction on this person” who has no limits.
Aug 05 – Urban Development
Ministry issues notice to
takeover the Herald House
Figure 93. Urban Development Ministry issues notice to takeover the Herald House
n a further confirmation of illegalities in the National Herald case, the
Urban Development Ministry has issued a notice to take over the Herald
House, the headquarters of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher
of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper. The notice was issued to
the AJL, who got the land for publishing newspaper at subsidised rates. The
Ministry’s action came after its probe team found that the Herald House and
premises allotted in the Press Enclave in ITO, Delhi was not being used for
the publication of a newspaper for the past 10 years, which is a violation of
I
the allotment rules.
For the past eight years, the holders of the building (literally the firm Young
Indian (YI) controlled by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi) were earning
more than Rs.80 lakhs ($117,000) per month by renting out two floors of
the building to Passport Seva Kendra.
In the last week of December 2017, the Income Tax department has fined
Rs.250 crores ($36.5 million) on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi
controlled firm Young Indian, which took over AJL in “covert and
fraudulent” ways. A few months back, Delhi High Court had ordered YI to
deposit Rs.10 crores for entertaining its appeal against the Income Tax fine
order [84] .
According to highly placed sources in the Urban Development Ministry,
two months back a probe team had inspected the premises of Herald House
and found that no newspaper publishing activity was happening for the past
10 years. The plot for Herald House was allotted in the mid-50s at a very
subsidised rates for publication of newspaper by AJL like other media
organisations in the Press Enclave Area. As per the lease agreement with
the Government, AJL was expected to return the place as and when it
stopped newspaper publication.
In a similar way, prime lands were allotted for the publication of National
Herald across the country. The lands were allotted at very cheap rates in
Lucknow, Patna, Mumbai, Panchkula, Bhopal, Indore and all these land
allotments are facing probes by various state governments.
Urban Development Ministry was acting on the complaint filed by the main
petitioner and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. After Swamy’s expose, the
Ministry has received several complaints of similar violations against many
other buildings in the Press Enclave Area and probe teams would be asked
to conduct investigation and details of the illegal holders of the premises in
the garb of newspaper publication [85] .
In the trial court, the National Herald case is now during the process of
submission of evidence by the petitioner Subramanian Swamy, who has
started his deposition on July 21. The next hearing is scheduled for August
25. The accused Congress leaders also filed a petition in the court for
restraining Swamy from tweeting about the case details and defaming them
[86]
.
Aug 08 – IT catches Rahul for
hushing up YI Directorship of
Rs.154 crores income,
approaches Delhi HC to quash
order
Figure 94. Income Tax catches Rahul for hushing up Young Indian Directorship & Rs.154
crores income.
he Delhi High Court on Wednesday denied relief to Congress President
T Rahul
Gandhi from restraining Income Tax for reassessing his Income
Tax return of 2011-2012, for hiding his Directorship in Young Indian in
the National Herald case. After slapping a fine of Rs.250 crores on Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi firm Young Indian in December 2017, for
hushing up the Rs.414 crores income in 2011, the Income Tax found that
Rahul Gandhi hushed up his Directorship in Young Indian in tax returns as
well.
Income Tax served notice on Rahul Gandhi for re-assessing his Income Tax
return of 2011-2012 in March 2018 and he approached the Delhi High
Court for quashing the Income Tax move accusing them of coercion.
However, the Judges declined to give relief. The Court also rejected Rahul’s
demand to ban media from reporting the Income Tax procedures in the
National Herald case.
The bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla listed the matter
for further hearing on August 14, after Additional Solicitor General (ASG)
Tushar Mehta opposed issuance of any interim order by the court. The
ASG, however, assured the bench that till the next date, no coercive step
would be taken against Rahul by the tax department.
Rahul’s lawyers led by Arvind Datar argued that they had received no
income from Young Indian and sought an interim order from the court as
the case related to the assessment is listed in the Income Tax Appellate
Tribunal on Thursday (August 9).
Here the interesting fact is that the National Herald scam was exposed by
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on November 1, 2012. This shows that
during the filing of his Income Tax Returns of 2011-2012, Rahul cleverly
hid his Directorship of his then secret firm Young Indian, floated to covertly
acquire the entire assets of defunct newspaper National Herald.
According to the tax department, Rahul's assessment for the years 2011-12
was decided to be reopened as he did not disclose that he was a director in
the company -- Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) - since 2010.
As per the tax department, the shares Rahul has in YI would lead him to
have an income of Rs.154 crores and not about Rs.68 lakhs, as was assessed
by it earlier.
The department has in the instant case applied section 147 of the Income
Tax Act, which provides for bringing under the tax net any income which
has escaped assessment in the original assessment.
Rahul’s lawyers said the query put to their client during the scrutiny of his
assessment was whether he had any interest in any company or sister
concern in which he was a director and he had replied in the negative as YI
was a Section 25 company, a non-profit entity, and hence no director would
have any interest in it. To this, the bench remarked, “in which event, it is a
nice conduit.”
The tax department has already issued a demand notice for around Rs.250
crores to YI for the assessment year 2011-12. Delhi High Court in March
2018 has already ordered Young Indian to deposit Rs.10 crores if they
wanted to appeal against the Income Tax fine of Rs.250 crores [87] .
A u g 1 4 I n c o m e Ta x a l s o c a t c h e s
Sonia Gandhi for hushing up
Directorship of YI and hushing
Rs.154 crores
Figure 95. Income Tax also catches Sonia Gandhi for hushing up Directorship of Young Indian
and hushing Rs.154 crores
ike son Rahul [88] , mother Sonia Gandhi is also caught by the Income
Tax Department for hiding the Directorship of National Herald in their
tax returns and evasion of taxable income of Rs.154 crores ($23 million).
Accusing Income Tax department of coercive actions, Congress former
President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that they did
not earn any income in the Young Indian- National Herald newspaper deal.
Congress leader and lawyer P Chidambaram argued for Sonia Gandhi on
L
her petition against the Income Tax order to reassess her annual tax return
of 2011-2012 for not disclosing the Directorship in the Young Indian, a
company floated to take over the newspaper publishing firm Associated
Journals in late 2010. Apart from Sonia Gandhi, another Director and
Congress leader Oscar Fernandez also filed a similar petition in the case
before the bench hearing Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s petition on the
same matter.
Like her son, Sonia Gandhi also requested the court to ban the media from
reporting on the Income Tax related issues in the National Herald case. The
Court rejected the demand reiterated by Chidambaram on behalf of Sonia
Gandhi. The Bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla
posted the case to August 16 for further hearing. Arguing for more than an
hour, Chidambaram said that even if there was taxable income, it would not
go into the hands of Young Indian’s shareholders like the former Congress
President, who owns 38 percent of the firm. Rahul Gandhi also has 38
percent shares in the firm. Oscar Fernandez and Motilal Vora have 12
percent shares each.
After hearing part arguments, when the court said it will issue a formal
notice, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta said there was no
need for it as he was present in the court. The court, thereafter, listed the
matter for further hearing on August 16, when the ASG will argue in
defence of the action taken by the tax department.
The court said that once it reserved its judgment on the conclusion of the
arguments, it will ask the tax department not to take any coercive steps till
the verdict was pronounced. The bench also did not issue any order
restraining the reporting of contents of the petitions filed on behalf of Sonia
Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, and party leader Oscar
Fernandez.
The Gandhis and Fernandes have challenged the reopening of their tax
assessment for the year 2011-12 in March this year. Senior advocate Arvind
Datar, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, said that arguments during the hearing
may be reported and urged the court to order that confidentiality be
maintained regarding the contents of the petitions.
However, the bench declined to issue any such direction saying “we cannot
go into all this ” as it would be akin to going on a “wild-goose chase ” as it
was not known who reports contents of the matter and who is the source of
the information.
As per the department, the shares Rahul and Sonia have in Young Indian
would lead them to have an income of Rs 154 crores each. During his
arguments, Chidambaram accused Income Tax of relying on the complaints
filed by Subramanian Swamy, without taking his name throughout his
arguments.
Chidambaram contended, “when debt is converted to equity, it does not
result in any income and, even if it does, it would not result in income for
the shareholder .” He said that even if it was accepted that income was
generated, “it cannot be the income of YI and its shareholders in the same
assessment year of 2011-12 .”
He also argued that the tax department has “incorrectly invoked and
applied” the formula for calculating the tax liability of Sonia Gandhi when
her assessment for 2011-12 was reopened. Chidambaram said that when his
client became a shareholder of Young Indian, she received nothing else, not
even property, except 1,900 shares in the company.
He also termed as “incorrect” the tax department's claim that Rs 90 crores
loaned to AJL, leading to the debt, was bogus or paper loan, saying this is
not correct as the amount was loaned through 137 cheques issued over a 910-year period.”
Among other objections raised by him against the reopening of the
assessment was that the communication sent to his client informing about
the development was not digitally signed. The assessment was reopened in
March 2018 on the orders of a senior officer who was monitoring the case
from 2014, he said.
Figure 96. Is this why RaGa did not want Swamy to tweet?
Meanwhile, in the trial court, Subramanian Swamy’s deposition and
submission of documents will continue August 25 [89] . In the trial court, the
Congress leaders also demanded for restraining Swamy from Tweeting
about the case. “I will give them a befitting reply ,” said Swamy [90] .
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 69.60 Rupees.
A u g 2 4 – T h e s c a m g e t s m u r k i e r.
U D M ’s S h o w C a u s e N o t i c e
exposes more frauds
Figure 97. The scam gets murkier. UDM’s Show Cause Notice exposes more frauds
he details of more frauds committed by the Gandhi family in grabbing
the National Herald newspaper’s headquarters Herald House are
exposed in the probe conducted by the Urban Development Ministry.
The Show Cause Notice issued to the National Herald newspaper publisher
Associated Journals Limited (AJL) reveals that the staffers also lied to the
Ministry’s probe team about the lease allotment details being changed
again, by UPA Government controlled by Sonia Gandhi in January 2013.
T
The Urban Development Ministry started probe on the complaint filed by
BJP leader and petitioner Subramanian Swamy on March 2018 urging the
Government to take back the Herald House from AJL for violating the land
lease conditions. The details of the Show Cause Notice reveal that more
than half acre land in the much coveted Press Enclave Area in ITO, New
Delhi was allotted for publication of National Herald newspaper for just
around Rs.50000 in 1962.
The allotment was for printing and publication activities of newspapers and
Government allotted the prime land for an extremely low price. In 1967,
Government allowed the newspapers to rent out the higher-level floors
while maintaining ground and first floor for newspaper publishing
activities. This decision was taken after the hectic lobbying by newspaper
barons for getting some revenue from renting out the higher floors of the
building for commercial purposes. Except for hotel, cinema, and restaurant
business, the higher floors were allowed for other business as per the
dilution of the lease agreements approved by the Urban Ministry in 1967.
This rule was further diluted on January 7, 2013, by the UPA Government
on the request of AJL. It must be remembered that this dilution happened
two months after Subramanian Swamy exposed the National Herald scam
on November 1, 2012. In mid-2011, after Sonia – Rahul controlled firm
Young Indian covertly took over the AJL, the first two floors were rented
out to Passport Seva Kendra related operations for a huge monthly rent of
Rs.80 lakhs.
“On request of AJL, vide letter dated 7-1-2013 the clause 7 of the perpetual
lease was further modified to the extent that instead of basement and 1 st
floor, basement and any one floor of the building are required to be used for
press and offices of the lesse ,” said the two-page Show Cause Notice to
AJL detailing the violations.
Further, in order to confirm the present status of the activities in the
premises, a three-member committee comprising officers from the Ministry
of Housing and Urban Affairs was formed to inspect the premises on the 9th
of April 2018. The Committee observed that no printing press was
functioning at any floor of the premises (Herald House) and no paper stock
was found anywhere. However, 4th floor was stated to be used by the AJL
for their press related office. As informed by AJL officials, the printing of
the weekly being published by them takes place in the printing press of
Indian Express at Noida. The Committee was also made available
newspapers which it has started publishing again on the 24th of September
2017. When enquired whether the paper was being published before the 24 th
of September 2017, it was informed that the publishing was earlier stopped,
and employees were given Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) due to the
poor financial condition of the company. As there was no printing activity
seen anywhere in the entire premises, it implies that the premises are not
being used for the purpose for which the land was allotted. i. e. running of
press and the terms and conditions of the lease agreement are not being
adhered to.
“It was observed by the inspecting team that most of the areas of the
premises have been rented out. If the premises are not being used for the
primary use of printing press and related purpose, the renting out of the
premises itself becomes misuse of allotted land ,” said the Show Cause
Notice directing AJL to reply within 30 days, invoking takeover of the
building for violations.
From the above Show Cause Notice, it is evident that the new launch of
weekly by National Herald (which was a daily newspaper earlier till April
2008) in September 2017 was just a fraud to save the thousands of crores
worth properties grabbed by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi firm Young Indian.
The irony is that many pliable journalists joined to work in the namesake
weekly launched, while forgetting the humongous fraud of looting the
Rs.5000-crores- worth land and building assets of the National Herald
newspaper by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
Aug 25 – Swamy produces
I n c o m e Ta x a u t h e n t i c a t e d
documents puncturing Congress
Rs.90 cr loan claim as evidence
Figure 98. Swamy submits authenticated documents in the case
JP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday produced authenticated
Income Tax department’s assessment order against Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi controlled firm Young Indian in the trial court as his
evidence. Congress leaders’ lawyers objected vehemently when Swamy
produced the 200 plus page Income Tax order which imposed fine on
Young Indian of Rs.250 crores for hushing up the taxable income of Rs.415
B
crores earned through the acquisition of Associated Journals Limited (AJL),
the publisher of National Herald newspaper in 2011.
Congress leaders’ lawyers R S Cheema and Rebecca John argued that the
production of Income Tax documents is “beyond the pleading.” During his
second day of deposition, Swamy submitted the Income Tax order in a
sealed cover with a covering letter from Income Tax authorities to the
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal. Producing the
document as his evidence, Swamy said that the Income Tax findings clearly
says that Congress claim of Rs.90 crores to AJL was a total lie and nonexistent one. This lie was floated to take over the AJL by Sonia and Rahul
Gandhi by floating Young Indian.
“My investigations into the claim of AJL revealed that the AJL claimed to
have received Rs.90 crores as loan from AICC has not been substantiated
by either the account books of AJL or the of the Congress party. This was
investigated by the Income Tax authorities and they had rejected the claim
that such a loan was received by AJL from the AICC ,” said Swamy while
producing the Income Tax authenticated assessment order.
The previous week, P Chidambaram appearing on behalf of Sonia Gandhi
claimed that Rs.90 crores was paid to AJL by Congress through 137
cheques during the past 10 years from 2004. The Additional Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta countered that this was a bogus claim and was not
yet supported by any documents and both parties have not proved this,
though Income Tax gave them sufficient time.
After the arguments and counterarguments on the acceptability of the
Income Tax Order, the Magistrate observed that court can check the
authenticity of the document by summoning the signatories of the officials
in the submitted documents. In his one hour long second day of pieces of
evidence, Swamy also produced documents of Congress claim of Rs.90
crores loan. This document was earlier submitted by Sonia Gandhi in
Supreme Court, challenging the summons of the trial court in 2015.
Countering the objections of Congress lawyers, Swamy said that he was
only submitting the documents submitted by “you people” in the Supreme
Court.
He also produced the documents of AJL’s resolution by issuing its 99.1
percent shares to Young Indian and claiming that none of the AJL’s
directors have interest in Young Indian’s Board. But all the AJL Directors
Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandez, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda became the
Directors Young Indian, said Swamy. The Congress lawyers objected to
most of the documents produced by Swamy even the same leadership in
Congress party, AJL and Young Indian. For further evidence, the Court had
scheduled the next date on September 17.
Meanwhile, Motilal Vora again filed a petition against Swamy for tweeting
against them and about the case matters.
Sep 10 – Delhi High Court
dismisses Sonia-Rahul Gandhi
p e t i t i o n s a g a i n s t I n c o m e Ta x
re-assessing in NH case
Figure 99. Delhi High Court rejects petitions challenging Income Tax re-assessment
has started ticking for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the
T ime
National Herald case. Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the pleas
of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Oscar Fernandes
challenging reopening of their tax assessments for 2011-12. The Income
Tax issued orders to re-assess the tax returns, after finding that the Congress
leaders did not reveal their directorship in the firm Young Indian, which
took over the National Herald newspaper publishing firm Associated
Journals Limited (AJL). Dismissing the petitions, the Bench comprising
Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla said that Income Tax has right to
issue such orders and directed the petitioners to approach the appropriate
forum, if aggrieved by the Income Tax’s order.
Sonia Gandhi was represented by the former Finance Minister and senior
lawyer P Chidambaram and Rahul Gandhi was represented by noted tax
lawyer Arvind Datar. Many Congress leaders feel that Chidambaram had
gossiped against Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi and got them removed
from the National Herald cases.
The High Court has already rejected the Congress leaders’ demand for
restraining media houses from publishing the news related to Income Tax
process in the National Herald cases. It is an irony that Chidambaram who
nowadays speaks too much on freedom of expression argued for media
banning in National Herald case.
The Income Tax Department, in December 2017, fined Young Indian for
Rs.250 crores for suppressing the taxable income of Rs.414 crores in 20112012. PGurus has already detailed the Income Tax Order on this matter [91] .
After this Income Tax issued orders in March 2018 for re-assessing the
income of the leaders as they had suppressed their directorship in Young
Indian.
The Young Indian was floated in December 2010 and the scam got exposed
only when Subramanian Swamy exposed the matter on November 1, 2012.
This shows that Sonia and Rahul kept the directorship and floating of
Young Indian as a secret and hence did not declare to Income Tax in 2011 &
2012 March Income Tax Returns.
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.
Appearing for Income Tax Department, Additional Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta had argued that the Congress leaders had alleged mala fide on the
part of the tax department but had not made any averments in this regard.
Congress leaders accused Income Tax of “coercing” and acting on the
complaints of the BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
The Income Tax also found that Congress claim of giving Rs.90 crores to
AJL was bogus and this was bogus claim was floated to acquire the assets
of AJL, which is more than Rs.5000 crores land assets across the country.
The tax department had said the shares Rahul has in Young Indian would
lead him to have an income of Rs.154 crores and not about Rs.68 lakhs, as
assessed earlier.
Figure 100. Not many options to escape...
Meanwhile, Subramanian Swamy’s submission of evidence is going on in
the trial court and the next hearing is posted for September 17. After this, he
will be cross-examined by a battery of Congress lawyers.
S e p 1 4 – M r. A r u n J a i t l e y, h o p e
you have learnt your lesson for
treating Sonia family with kid
gloves
Figure 101. Mr. Jaitley, hope you have learnt your lesson
ealth challenged Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitley is being taken to
the cleaners by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi. This all-out
offensive must be a lesson to Jaitley and all in the BJP who are reticent
about attacking the ALMOST-BUT-NEVER-THE-FIRST Family of India
(Family). Arun Jaitley is widely seen as a go-between with the Family and
has, in the past, ensured that any attack on them was well and properly
diluted. Take the case of National Herald - Jaitley dubiously comes out in
an interview with Barkha Dutt and states that the case will be over, if that
Rs.90 crores loan is given back [92] . How can a Finance Minister blabber
H
like this when the Courts, as well as Income Tax, were seized of the case?
Was he trying to give a “message” to the Income Tax sleuths?
Jaitley and the DDCA
The header photo says it all. Jaitley’s major weakness was and is Delhi’s
cricket affairs. It is a known fact that without Sonia Gandhi’s blessings, he
can’t continue even for a minute in the Delhi Cricket Association which is
popularly known as DDCA (Delhi District Cricket Association). Jaitley was
controlling this powerful cricket body for the past two decades and now his
buddy Rajat Sharma is in charge of this coveted body. These politicians
literally kicked out iconic cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi and BJP’s suspended
MP Kirti Azad, who was a member of 1983 World Cup winning squad.
See what Jaitley’s kid-gloves approach to the Family has come to. Ingrate
Rahul Gandhi has not missed a chance to kick the FM on fugitive Vijay
Mallya’s allegations. The Family goes for the jugular when they are
cornered and do not let the minions or deal makers do the dirty work. As a
Finance Minister, he has been accused of diluting many cases related to
anti-corruption, which was the prime reason BJP got an absolute majority in
2014. All this “karuna” shown to the Family and nothing in return!
It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mistake for accommodating Jaitley
who managed to lose a safe Lok Sabha seat that has been with BJP for
many years. Add to that Modi allotted plum posts like Defence, Information
and Broadcasting, apart from the Finance and Corporate Affairs Ministry.
The basic problem with Jaitley is that he is always an advocate of the
Bombay Club, controlled by Tata, the Ambanis and Essar. Jaitley has the
bad habit of jumping straight into the Defense side of arguments, despite
being on the side of Prosecution! It is still a wonder why the Prime Minister
allowed an unwell Jaitley who has a danger of infection back in the Finance
Ministry. It is a complete surprise because Piyush Goyal was doing a
competent job in the Finance Ministry and undoing several mistakes in the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) and was taking positive measures and
responding well to people’s demands.
S o n i a G a n d h i a n d t h e A g u s t a We s t l a n d d e a l
One more glaring instance of Jaitley’s understanding with the Family must
be told. In April 2016, in the Rajya Sabha, Subramanian Swamy was
supposed to lead the debate on Agusta Helicopter scam involving Sonia
Gandhi. But mysteriously, when the debate started, a political novice,
BJP’s Bhupender Yadav started initiating the debate and wasted 20 minutes
without uttering the word “Sonia Gandhi”! That day Jaitley was not present
in the House as if he wanted to distance himself from the attack of Swamy
on Sonia. After Yadav’s boring speech, Swamy got a chance to speak and it
was a full-frontal assault on Sonia Gandhi, a rarity in the Indian Parliament
[93]
.
After a few days, the issue was debated in Lok Sabha and the non-member
Jaitley was present, as a Minister. Sonia Gandhi was also present. Why was
Sonia present? Because she got an assurance that a Rajya Sabha-like attack
was not going to happen. It is a shame that BJP with an absolute majority in
Lok Sabha never attacked Sonia Gandhi on Agusta issue in the lower
house! This has the signature of Jaitley written all over it.
We have seen Jaitley’s dirty games in Aircel-Maxis to help his buddy
Chidambaram. We also have seen the reports of Jaitley’s daughter being a
legal retainer of fugitive Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi firm [94] . As per
Jaitley’s admission, they received some fees and that was later returned in
December 2017! Due to his immense clout in the media, Jaitley has
managed to hush up the matter and Congress also did not rake it up. But
now Congress is getting desperate and will not miss any chance to attack
the government and Jaitley keeps providing ammunition.
I don’t know if Jaitley or his family members ever held a legal retainership
of Vijay Mallya and his firms. But it is a fact that it was Jaitley, who as
BJP’s Karnataka in-charge helped Mallya to enter Rajya Sabha again after
he ended his Congress-supported term. It is a known fact that Vijay Mallya
and Jaitley have good relations. Otherwise, the State Bank of Indian (SBI)
and the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI)- like Public Sector
Banks would have put Mallya in jail by 2015.
Jaitley owes an answer to the nation on this - Were complainant banks
aware that Vijay Mallya’s Look Out Notice by CBI was diluted? It is easily
seen that the CBI must have done it after the Banks' message that they can
manage settlement with him. The then pliable CBI Director Anil Sinha who
wasted two years in Aircel-Maxis case was totally under the control of
Arun Jaitley. This is a known fact.
We all know that it was only after PM Modi gave strong instructions that
the CBI under new Director Alok Verma started acting against the corrupt
Chidambaram clan.
Arun Jaitley must remember that the Family ensured his defeat in 2014 by
putting up a strong candidate and now is being mercilessly attacked by
Rahul Gandhi. All his good deeds towards the Family have done him no
good.
Sep 17 – Swamy completes
submission of evidence.
Congress leaders to start cros
on October 27
Figure 102. Swamy completes submission of evidence. Cross-examination start on October 27
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy ending his submission of evidence
W ith
in the National Herald case on Monday, the trial court has posted the
case for starting of cross-examination on October 27. All the accused
Congress leaders are expected to bring senior lawyers to cross-examine
Swamy, which is the most interesting part in the politically sensitive
National Herald case, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are also
caught by the Income Tax Dept. (IT) for hushing up Rs.414 crores taxable
income, facing a Rs.250 crores penalty.
Today (September 17) was the third day of the submission of evidence by
Swamy. As soon as Swamy ended the submission, the Congress lawyers
demanded to start the cross-examination by asking one question. This was a
clever move by Congress lawyers to prevent Swamy from providing further
evidence in between the next posting of the case. Sensing the Congress
move, Swamy said that he is not prepared for the cross-examination and the
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal posted the case to
start crossing on October 27.
In his one-hour long submission of evidence today, Swamy concentrated on
the production of documents related to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi in the
formation of new firm Young Indian and the acquisition of National Herald
newspaper publishing firm Associated Journal Limited (AJL). Most of the
documents and evidence submitted by Swamy were objected to by
Congress leaders, accusing him of going “beyond the complaint.”
“Thereafter, accused No: 3 Mr. Motilal Vora as representative of Young
Indian and also as Treasurer of the Congress party at that time approached
the Chairman of Managing Director of AJL, who was also Motilal Vora and
made the proposals that since AJL was not in a position to discharge or
liquidate the debt, Young Indian as owner of the debt will accept insisted of
nine crores or thereabouts issue fresh shares at the 1937 price of Rs.10 ,”
said Swamy submitting the documents. Congress lawyers objected to
Swamy’s statements that Vora did all illegalities knowingly.
Congress lawyers also objected to the production of journalist J
Gopikrishnan’s emails to Rahul Gandhi where the latter clearly says that he
has no intention to re-launch National Herald newspaper. Congress lawyers
argued that these emails are not at all the part of the case.
Completing the submission of evidence, Swamy said that all the accused
including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul of engaging in criminal conspiracy,
criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation of properties and
cheating.
Meanwhile, on October 6, the arguments by Congress leaders and Swamy
will take place on the Congress leaders’ objections on the “highly
objectionable ” tweeting by Swamy.
Oct 06 – Congress demands
Court restrain Swamy from
Tw e e t i n g
Figure 103. Congress demands Court restrain Swamy from Tweeting about the case
ongress leaders on Saturday demanded interim stay on restraining BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy from “derogatory style” of tweeting about
the National Herald case and Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. However, the
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal did not heed the
demands and posted the case for further arguments on October 20, as
Swamy sought time to reply.
C
The Courtroom was full of fun and the Judge seemed to have enjoyed when
Congress lawyers started reading out and produced more than 2000 tweets
of Swamy accusing Sonia and Rahul. The Congress leaders lead lawyer R S
Cheema said that Swamy is always mentioning Sonia Gandhi as TDK. He
said that TDK is short for Tadaka. “Tadaka was Rakshasi (lady demon) who
killed many Brahmins and was killed by Lord Rama ,” said Cheema, leading
to laughter in the courtroom. Cheema cited several times that Swamy was
calling his clients as TDK and Buddhu. However, he did not specify who
Buddhu is.
“He is tweeting wildly. Even court procedures were misinterpreted. He is
abusing us also. He is calling us Congi lawyers. What is the meaning of
this? We are lawyers and not Congi lawyers ,” Cheema went on, citing
many tweets of Swamy in his 30-minute arguments. However senior
lawyers like Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi were not present. There is a
rumor in the Congress circles that former Finance Minister P Chidambaram
had complained to Sonia Gandhi about the poor performance of his
colleagues and got them removed from the case.
After the Congress lawyer’s arguments of more than 30 minutes, Swamy
said that he needs time to reply to all these allegations. “Why seeking time?
Do you need to tweet again? Within half an hour you will start tweeting,”
Cheema commented when Judge posted the case to October 20. Judge did
not heed to the Congress demand of interim stay. He was seen most of the
time enjoying with a smile when the lawyers were reading out Swamy’s
“derogatory” tweets.
Coming out from the court, Swamy told the media that on October 20, he
will give a fitting reply to the Congress leadership, who is nowadays talking
too much on freedom of expression. He then tweeted as follows:
Figure 104. Sweet tweet
Meanwhile, the cross-examination of Subramanian Swamy by the Congress
leaders will start on October 27, which promises to be exciting, in the
politically sensitive National Herald case.
O c t 1 6 – S w a m y ’s a n t i corruption, legal battles and
its effect on South Indian
politics
Figure 105. All the efforts of Dr. Swamy to out Congress Party corruption and get the corrupt
jail is about to bear fruit
ubramanian Swamy’s efforts to cleanse southern states’ politics has
started yielding results. Tamil Nadu politics minus Chidambaram’s (PC)
influence will be ethical and healthy. Swamy’s long legal battle with PC
& his corrupt family is reaching its logical conclusion. In fact,
Congresspeople should thank Dr. Swamy for prosecuting corrupt PC so that
the Grand Old Party can be liberated from the maximum corrupt practices
promoted by Chidambaram since he became a power centre in the party.
Chidambaram was the architect and author of all the mega scams in India
S
namely 2G, Coal, Non-Performing Assets (NPA) scam, Aircel Maxis,
NDTV, Vasan Eye Care, Saradha Scam, Forex derivates scam [95] , Airbus
scandal to name a few that rocked the nation.
It was Subramanian Swamy in August 2018, who unlocked the clandestine
relationship between PC, Ahmed Patel with Congress party’s Karnataka
money bag D K Shivakumar and handed over the evidence to investigative
agencies leading to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registering case
against DK recently [96] . IT department has already collected enough
evidence against this agent of PC and Ahmed Patel who with his set of
conduits’ operated cash collection for his Delhi bosses. Incidentally, the set
of information regarding the corrupt trio was provided to Swamy by a rival
group of disgruntled Congress leaders unhappy with the JD(S)-Congress
party alliance to form the collation government. A stream of classified
information is flowing now due to the vertical spilt in the Congress party
that includes information on the controversial Govind Raju diary wherein
the Income Tax (IT) department has raised demand from the tainted
Congress MLC.
With the seizure of the Rs.54 crores-worth properties of Karti
Chidambaram, there is a huge unrest in the entire Congress party. The
imminent action that was stalled by certain forces in the government seems
to have been broken by the Prime Minister’s (PM) interference on the
specific complaint made by Subramanian Swamy to the Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO). The Congress leaders and associates likely to be prosecuted
are P Chidambaram & family, Robert Vadra, Ahmed Patel, BS Hooda, DK
Shivakumar, and Virbhadra Singh. In the National Herald case, Swamy has
shown the Indian courts to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and now they
are also facing Income Tax notices. Modi government has yielded to the
advice of Swamy to fast-track investigations against the Congress
leadership so that BJP can go to the 2019 elections with the conviction that
they have delivered on the election promise of dealing with corruption
head-on. PMO has instructed the investigative agencies to fast-track
pending investigation to bring confidence in the common masses, and this
is sure to bring floating votes back to the BJP.
Swamy has vowed to track down all the White-Collar criminals to cleanse
the politics. After hunting down Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in
National Herald case, P Chidambaram & family in multiple corruption
cases, BS Hooda in HUDA case, DK Shivakumar in Hawala case linked to
AP & PC, Swamy is likely to push for the prosecution of the culprits in the
court of law.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu politics will likely witness a tremendous
structural change in the next few days. Subramanian Swamy is a man in a
hurry to convict the Netas who have looted the country and they are
responsible for the entire mess in the country including poverty, Naxalism,
poor health care and disastrous education system, and a poor justice system.
According to his own words, “Corruption in India is the biggest cause of
misery for millions for native Indians and I have taken a pledge to wipe it
off from the country with or without the support of the government
machinery .”
Apart from corruption cases, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are eagerly
looking to Swamy’s legal battles to free Tirupati Temple and many temples
in Kerala from Government’s control. It is a known fact that temple money
is being diverted for other purposes.
Oct 20 – Swamy demands
authentication of his tweets
f r o m C o n g r e s s l a w y e r. C r o s s i n g
of Swamy in NH case to begin
on Nov 17
Figure 106. Swamy turns the table on Congress lawyers - demands authentication of his tweets
iving a surprise to Congress lawyers, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy
started his counter-arguments in the National Herald case tweeting
controversy by demanding authentication of his more than 2000 tweets
submitted by the accused leaders. “You have demanded authenticated or
certified copy when I submitted the copy of Income Tax Orders against you.
G
You people even demanded when I submitted the copy of Sonia’s Gandhi’s
affidavit in Supreme Court served to me. That time you demanded me to
comply with the provisions of Evidence Act. Now you must also adhere to
those provisions of Evidence Act.
“I don’t know you have committed perjury or changes in my 2000 tweets
photocopy produced by you. So, you must also get authentication from
Twitter ,” said Swamy starting his counterarguments, seeking dismissal of
the petition filed by accused Motilal Vora, seeking to restrain tweeting
about National Herald case matters.
This argument of Swamy has confused the Congress lawyers as there are no
prescribed rules on how to authenticate a tweet. Swamy did not agree to
Congress lawyers’ suggestions on proof on downloading. As Twitter is a
US-based firm, the real authentication has to come from US Department of
Justice, says legal experts, adding that this is still a grey area in Indian laws.
Putting an end to the criss-cross arguments, Additional Chief Magistrate
Samar Vishal asked Swamy to continue his arguments on the merits of the
petition filed by Congress leaders. “They assume, TDK and Buddhu, I
meant is about Sonia and Rahul. I have no objection on that and let them
assume whatever it is. I am making comments on social media and nothing
to do with obstruction of justice in this case. Have I said against the
honourable and learned Judge? Their arguments that I interfere in the
administration of justice or sub judice and all are totally wrong ,” said
Swamy reiterating the dismissal of “frivolous” petition.
The Congress lawyers also objected to Swamy’s mentioning in Twitter as
“Congi Lawyers.” “What do you mean by Congi?” asked agitated lead
lawyer R S Cheema. Ridiculing Congress lawyers, Swamy said he
described them as Congi lawyers as they represent Congress (Indira) faction
leaders. “It is my opinion.”
“We have not called you Sanghi complainant. We are professionals. We
don’t belong to a party ,” said Cheema. “There are a lot of Congress
factions. I, O, S, A. In short form these people are known as Congi and as
you represent them, you are known as Congi lawyers ,” Swamy retorted,
reiterating Congi is a not a defamatory word. He also produced various
judgments upholding freedom of expression, seeking dismissal of the
petition of Congress leaders.
Putting an end to the heated exchanges, the Judge reserved for Orders on
this regard on November 17. He also said that the crossing of Swamy by
Congress lawyers in the main case will also start on November 17, as the
earlier fixed day October 27 is a holiday.
“You (Swamy) will enjoy when you are in the cross, you'll see the real
Cheema that day ,” said Advocate Cheema, while the Judge pronouncing
the next day hearing.
Nov 12 –
notice to
vacate by
Congress
Court
Government issues
Herald House to
November 15.
leadership rushes to
Figure 107. UDM issues notice to Herald House to vacate by November 15
tep-by-step, drip-by-drip, the long arm of the law has started catching up
with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald fraud. The
Urban Development Ministry issued notice to the defunct National
Herald newspaper publishing company Associated Journals Limited (AJL)
to vacate Herald House in Delhi by November 15, citing violations in the
allotment and illegal usage of the building. In the evening Congress
leadership rushed to Delhi High Court and the case is posted for tomorrow
S
(November 13).
Covert acquisition by Shell companies
AJL had stopped publishing the newspaper National Herald and other two
papers in Hindi and Urdu in 2008 and the public limited company is now
covertly acquired in 2010 by a shell firm called Young Indian, floated by
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi with 76 percent share ownership. BJP leader
Subramanian Swamy in 2016, filed a complaint to Urban Development
Ministry to take over the Herald House, citing the blatant violations and
illegalities in the garb of journalism [97] .
From 2011, after the takeover of AJL by the shell firm floated by Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Herald House was rented out to Passport
Seva Kendra and the controllers of this prime property were getting Rs.80
lakhs per month.
The plea of AJL, challenging the Urban Development Ministry ending the
lease and asking it to vacate the premises by November 15, is scheduled to
come up for a hearing Tuesday before Justice Sunil Gaur.
The plea alleged that the Land and Development Office's order was “illegal,
unconstitutional, arbitrary, tainted with malafide and without authority and
jurisdiction .”
The petition, filed through advocates Sunil Fernandes and Priyansha Indra
Sharma, said that the Centre has warned them of action under the Public
Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 if they failed to
vacate the premises. One of the grounds mentioned in the L&DO order is
that no press has been functioning in the premises for last at least 10 years
and that it is being used only for commercial purposes in violation of the
lease deed.
After Subramanian Swamy’s case and after the bail of Sonia and Rahul in
December 2015, the Congress leadership started a website of National
Herald to fool the law. The Congress leadership also published once in a
while some supplements of National Herald to maintain the Herald House,
which is expected to be worth more than Rs.1000 crores. Some pliable
journalists were also appointed to pretend as if there was newspaper
activity.
Nov 20 – Court rejects Congress
petition to restrain
Subramanian Swamy from
tweeting in NH case
Figure 108. NH case Judge - Dr. Swamy is free to tweet about it
he fast-track court handling National Herald case on Monday dismissed
senior Congress leader Motilal Vora's plea seeking to restrain
complainant Subramanian Swamy from tweeting about the case and
“derogatory language”, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal rejected Vora's
plea, also an accused in the case, saying there was nothing to show that the
tweets caused any damage to the trial of the case or any prejudice to the
court.
T
It is interesting to note that Sonia and Rahul never filed a complaint against
Swamy’s tweeting, though all the produced tweets by Vora were attacking
mother and son. Vora, in his application, had alleged that Swamy was trying
to influence the court proceedings with his tweets. He also accused Swamy
of using derogatory language against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi often in the social media platform. The court said the tweets
cited by Vora “cannot be said to interfere with or obstruct the
administration of justice nor can be said to prejudice the due course of any
judicial proceedings, firstly because no such instance due to which the
applicant can say this has either been stated in the application, nor has
been put forth in the argument .”
“The trial is going on and has reached at the stage of evidence, and I am
unable to find anything on record nor anything has been put forth to show
that these tweets may have caused any damage to the trial or any prejudice
to the court ,” the judge said. It said “a court cannot prohibit any person
from reporting the proceedings of a case unless it is shown that the
reporting is patently and malafidely false.
“The tweets may not be happily worded from the point of view of the
applicant or other accused, but how they interfere in the administration of
justice or are prejudicial to the defence of the accused is not clear,” the
court said, posting cross-examination of Swamy in the main case to January
11.
Earlier in his arguments, Swamy said that apart from the principles of
freedom of speech, the tweets (more than 2000) produced by Congress
lawyers must be certified. He said the lawyers demanded certification when
he produced Income Tax documents and company records of Young Indian
and Associated Journals Limited. Congress lawyers also accused Swamy of
abusing them on Twitter by calling them “Congi lawyers” [98] . During their
arguments, Congress lawyers said that Swamy often used to call Sonia
Gandhi as TDK, which means the devil Tadaka of Ramayan. Interestingly
the lawyers never raised Swamy’s tweets calling Rahul Gandhi as Buddhu.
Reacting to the Court order, Swamy thanked his lawyers Ishkaran Bhandari,
Dilip Kumar, Ramni Taneja and his advocate wife Roxna Swamy. He said
that after the starting of his cross-examination from January 11, he would
demand for a daily hearing in the National Herald case from February.
Dec 03 – ED attaches illegally
allotted posh property to NH in
Panchkula
Figure 109. ED attaches Panchkula property allotted to NH under PMLA
rouble is brewing for the Gandhis in the National Herald case. Weeks
after the acquisition notice of its headquarters Herald House in Delhi, by
the Union Urban Development Ministry (UDM), the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) on Monday attached its swanky office in Panchkula,
illegally allotted by Haryana Government under the Congress regime. The
central probe agency said that it issued a provisional order of attachment
under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on December 1,
T
the day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet
against former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and others
for allegedly using fraudulent means to allot the land to Associate Journals
Limited (AJL).
“Since the value of plot fraudulently allotted to AJL has represented
proceeds of crime, the ED has attached the plot under PMLA Act ,” the
agency said in a statement. The plot has been attached under Section 5 of
the PMLA (attachment of property involved in money laundering) and
further investigation is in process, it said.
Reacting to the development main petitioner and BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy congratulated ED and said that he would pursue with Maharashtra
Government on the illegal allotment of land in Bandra to National Herald
publisher Associated Journals Limited. The State Government had already
formed a committee to probe into the irregularities. Finding a series of
frauds in the land allotment and usage, the Committee recommended the
takeover by the state government and initiating action against the AJL.
The ED said Hooda, as the then CM, “misused his official position by
dishonestly and fraudulently allotting the said plot to AJL afresh in the
guise of re-allotment at the rates prevalent in 1982 (Rs 91 per sqm) plus
interest despite the fact that the cancellation of allotment of the plot had
earlier attained finality and it could not legally be re-allotted .” It added
that the re-allotment of the plot in 2005 “unjustly benefitted” AJL.
The agency said its probe found that Hooda “granted undue extensions
thrice to AJL for construction of the said plot and after acquisition of the
said plot projected it as untainted property and further acquired loans from
the bank by way of mortgaging the same from tie to time .” The CBI
chargesheet, filed in a Panchkula court on December 1, named Congress
leader Motilal Vora besides Hooda in connection with the alleged
irregularities in the re-allotment of the plot.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court previous week reserved for orders in the
petition filed by AJL against the eviction notice issued by the Union Urban
Development Ministry. In the main case, the trial court has scheduled the
case to January 11 and cross-examination of Subramanian Swamy by
accused Congress leaders will start on that day.
Dec 21 – Delhi HC orders AJL
to vacate Herald House within
two weeks. Observes violations
in Sonia & Rahul firms takeover
Figure 110. Delhi High Court upholds the eviction order of Herald House by UDM
n a huge setback to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Delhi High
Court on Tuesday ordered the eviction of Herald House, the headquarters
of National Herald newspaper within two weeks, dismissing the petition
filed by the publisher Associated Journals Limited(AJL).
Finding no
irregularity in the Urban Development Ministry’s Land and Development
I
Office (L & DO) notice, the judgment said that there was total violation in
the lease agreement by the publisher who was holding the building for the
past 56 years and also said that the AJL’s takeover by Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi floated new firm Young Indian was also “questionable”
“modus operandi.”
“The ‘subject premises’ was leased out to legendary AJL for its publication,
but the dominant purpose is now practically lost. This Court is constrained
to observe that major portion of the ‘subject premises’ has been rented out
and petitioners’ newspaper, which was to be housed originally in the
basement and ground floor, has now been shifted on the top floor with
hardly any ‘press activity,” said the 17-page judgment of Justice Sunil Gaur.
“This Court is conscious of the fact that Young Indian Company is a
charitable company, but modus operandi to acquire 99% of AJL’s share
speaks volumes. The manner in which it has been done is also questionable
,” said the judgment. At present AJL, which is literally owned by Sonia and
Rahul controlled firm Young Indian is earning around Rs.80 lakhs per
month from 2011 by renting out two floors to Passport Seva Kendra.
Observing that there was no wrong in eviction notice, the judgment also
said that petitioner’s contention that the Government move was to erase,
efface and defame the legacy of Pandit Nehru was not at all acceptable.
“One fails to understand as to how the ruling dispensation has in any way
erased, effaced, or defamed Pt. Nehru… the allegations of malafide leveled
by petitioners are bald and unspecific and so, no note of these allegations
taken ,” said the judgment.
Figure 111. Party begins at Herald House
The AJL approached the High Court after the L & DO issued eviction
notice on October 30, based on the complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy,
BJP leader and petitioner in the main case. AJ was represented by Congress
leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Singhvi and Government was
represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The court had reserved its
decision on AJL's plea on November 22.
The High Court said AJL will have to vacate the premises at ITO here
within two weeks after which proceedings under the Public Premises
(Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 would be initiated.
The L&DO had ended the lease -- entered into with AJL on August 2, 1962
and made perpetual on January 10, 1967 -- asking the company to hand
over the possession by November 15. The L&DO's order had also said that
failure to hand over possession would lead to initiation of proceedings
under the Public Premises Act.
In its plea, AJL has also said that the digital versions of English newspaper
National Herald, Hindi's Navjivan and Urdu's Qaumi Awaz have
commenced since 2016-17. The weekly newspaper 'National Herald on
Sunday' resumed on September 24 last year and the place of publication
was the ITO premises, AJL had said, adding that the Hindi weekly
newspaper Sunday Navjivan was also being published since October this
year from the same premises.
Later in the evening, welcoming the judgment, the Urban Development
Ministry said that, “It was found by the inspecting team of the Ministry on
April 09, 2018 that no printing press was functioning at any floor of the
premises and no paper stock was found anywhere .”
“In earlier inspections also, the basement where Press machine should have
been, was found vacant. Further, it was also found that almost all shares of
AJL were transferred to ‘Young Indian Ltd’ having same address as that of
AJL without any permission of the Ministry. As per a report of the Income
Tax Department, in Young Indian Ltd., the majority of shares (76%) are
held by the Gandhi family and the rest by Shri Motilal Vora and Shri Oscar
Fernandes. It was also observed that instead of using the land given to AJL
for Press purpose, they are earning a huge sum of money by renting out
almost entire building except one floor which has negated the purpose for
which the land was originally allotted,” said the Ministry in a statement.
2019
Jan 05 – A covert operation in
CBDT to save Sonia and Rahul
f r o m I n c o m e Ta x c a s e i n N H
collapses
Figure 112. Another move by CBDT in the Finance Ministry to save RaGa and SoGa
Narendra Modi’s timely intervention on a prompt alert by
P rimeBJPMinister
leader Subramanian Swamy collapsed the Congress leadership’s
attempts to issue a dubious Circular by Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) to save them from the tax default case in National Herald.
Shockingly, on December 31, 2018, CBDT issued a dubious Circular
diluting the tax burden on the fresh issue of shares.
This was a cunning attempt engineered by the former Finance Minister P
Chidambaram, who is now the lead lawyer of Sonia Gandhi & Rahul
Gandhi and with National Herald facing more than Rs.400 crores tax
evasion case in the National Herald case. Congress leaders lost the case
against Income Tax in all forums and now their last appeal is pending in the
Supreme Court, where the case is scheduled on January 8. This dubious
circular by CBDT was issued by a clever act by Congress leaders led by
Chidambaram to save their High Command. The CBDT was forced to issue
this order by Finance Ministry headed by Arun Jaitley. The idea was to
show this circular to the Supreme Court in the next hearing to save Sonia
and Rahul from tax default. The content of the circular is the same as what
Chidambaram and a battery of Congress lawyers were arguing in the
Supreme Court.
But this collapsed after many honest Income Tax officials alerted BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy, who is the main petitioner in the National
Herald case. Swamy alerted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS
leadership about this fraud orchestrated in the Finance Ministry under
Jaitley to save Sonia and Rahul from tax evasion case. According to highly
placed officials, Modi ordered the cancelation of this dubious CBDT
Circular on January 3 and the Order was withdrawn by CBDT on January 4
in the evening [99] .
Many senior Income Tax officers say this dubious move originated from the
Finance Ministry in the garb of giving some relief to the new investors from
Angel Tax. Chidambaram-friendly officers were behind this move, they say.
Hearing Modi’s direction on withdrawal of the dubious CBDT Order next
came the Congress’ DRAMA! After the withdrawal of the Order, on
January 4 evening, Congress conducted a Press Conference at AICC Head
Quarters by Vivek Tankha MP and Ahmed Patel congratulating CBDT for
issuing a new order on December 31, which was canceled few hours ago.
Congress leaders said they are welcoming the CBDT Order! And declared
that this circular vindicates their stand in the National Herald case!
Congress was planning to quietly submit the CBDT Circular of December
31 in the Supreme Court on January 8 to get relief for Sonia and Rahul [100] .
But the plan collapsed due to Prime Minister’s intervention and the Circular
was canceled on January 4. So, a drama was created by calling a press
conference thanking CBDT on January 4, for December 31 Circular, which
was canceled hours before the Press Conference!
And next day Congress leaders started crying that the Order was withdrawn
by “vendetta” filled Modi. Blaming Jaitley headed Finance Ministry, the
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said that the Government should probe
who all played the dirty games in issuing this dubious circular to save Sonia
and Rahul from the tax evasion in National Herald case.
This is not the first time the Finance Ministry under Arun Jaitley has done
double-dealings in the National Herald case. In mid-2014, weeks after the
trial court summoned the Congress leaders, the Enforcement Directorate
issued a dubious circular to its officers asking them not to register any
money laundering cases based on the summons issued by courts. The illegal
order also said that the officers should wait for the Supreme Court’s
decisions and not to initiate actions. The circular was withdrawn after
Subramanian Swamy filed complaints to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and RSS leaders, blaming Arun Jaitley for covert operations.
One must remember Arun Jaitley’s controversial interview with Barkha
Dutt in 2015. In his interview, Jaitley said if National Herald’s publisher
Associated Journal Limited (AJL) pays back Rs.90 crores to Congress
party, the case will end! Now Income Tax found that the so-called loan of
Rs.90 crores was just a hoax and this fake loan claim was nothing but a
clever ploy by Sonia and Rahul to covertly take over the Rs.5000 crores
worth land assets across in India by AJL.
These incidents prove that there are many traitors in every party and there
are many keeping unholy relations cutting across party lines.
Jan 14 – Swamy urges PM to
order a probe on who is behind
the dubious CBDT Circular to
save Sonia & Rahul from NH
case
Figure 113. Swamy urges PM to order a probe on who is behind the dubious CBDT
Circular
enior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy urged Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to order a probe on the issuing of a dubious Circular by the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on December 31, 2018 to save Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi from the Income Tax implications in the National
S
Herald case. In a letter, appreciating Modi for the prompt action of the
withdrawal of the circular on January 4, Swamy said there should be a
probe to find out who asked the Under Secretary in Ministry of Finance to
issue this dubious circular to save the Gandhis from tax probes.
“You have given importance to this National Herald case by announcing in
the public several times that Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and four
others are presently out on bail and therefore lacked morality to speak
about corruption. This is a well-taken point, and I congratulate you for
bringing the matter before the general public ,” said Swamy pointing out
that the dubious CBDT circular was issued to demolish his case as well as
the Income Tax’s case.
He said that this Circular was issued by “traitors” with the help of pliable
officials to save Gandhis from the crime of forming Young Indian and take
over the 99.9% shares of the National Herald publishing firm Associated
Journals Limited in an illegal way.
“This is an extraordinary, unprecedented event, that a Circular (dealing with
such an extraordinarily important matter impinging on the fight against
corruption) should be issued to casually and withdrawn within a matter of
24 hours. It means that the original Circular dated December 31, 2018, and
made public on January 3, 2019, was either an act of gross stupidity and
incompetence (which is not likely), or probably that it was a command
performance by the Finance Ministry Under-Secretary who signed the
Circular. The mere fact that in 24 hours, the Circular was withdrawn shows
the great concern felt by the Government about the damage likely to be
caused by this and hence the Government wasted no time to withdraw the
Circular. But it is important to know the Circulars are prepared through a
process in which many participate,” said Swamy, seeking an Inquiry
Committee under Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in PMO.
“Obviously the first Circular was to help Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and
other four accused to escape from the National Herald case. What was the
quid pro quo for this action of the Ministry of Finance officer? The signing
officer should be interrogated on who advised him/ her to sign this Circular
,” demanded Swamy, main petitioner in the National Herald case.
Feb 05 – Cross-examination of
Subramanian Swamy by Sonia
G a n d h i a n d R a h u l G a n d h i ’s
lawyer begins on a low key
Figure 114. Cross-examination of Swamy begins on a low key
much-awaited cross-examination of petitioner BJP leader
Subramanian Swamy by accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s
advocates turned out to be a damp squib on Monday. Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi were represented by veteran lawyer R S Cheema who spent
close to two hours on the first day of crossing on February 4, concentrated
T
he
on a trivial issue whether Swamy said the closure of National Herald
newspaper was a permanent one or not. He also kept asking Swamy on
whether the closure in 2008 was meant to acquire the properties of the
publishing company Associated Journal Limited (AJL) by Sonia and Rahul.
Many expected the cross-examination of Swamy to be a fiery exchange of
questions and answers, but it turned out to be a low-key affair as veteran
lawyer Cheema kept to low profile questions. Being an expert in law,
Swamy also kept his cool by giving matter-of-fact replies without
elaborating or provoking the accused Congress leader’s lawyer. The case
was posted to next date for continuation of crossing on February 23. All the
seven accused persons’ lawyers will cross Swamy, who sought for day-today hearings from February 23 onwards, which is the Congress leaders may
not want.
After the crossing Swamy tweeted that most questions posed by Sonia and
Rahul’s lawyer were trivial ones.
Figure 115.Swamy tweets start of cross-examination
While the lawyer reiterated on how Swamy affirmed that National Herald
newspaper was shut down permanently, Swamy replied that he relied on
‘The Pioneer’ newspaper’s report by J Gopikrishnan, who relied on Rahul
Gandhi’s email to him that there was no intention to re-launch the National
Herald newspaper.
Figure 116. Cross-examination of Swamy - 2
Congress lawyers were vehemently objecting to the submission of Rahul
Gandhi’s email to journalist J Gopikrishnan while Swamy’s was reiterating
this as proof during his evidence providing.
The fact is that till date, National Herald is not yet re-launched as a daily
newspaper. Only after the High Court and Supreme Court directed Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to appear before the trial court did the Congress
leaders launch an online edition in late 2016. In late 2017, they occasionally
published a weekly paper.
During his cross, Swamy also brought out the Urban Development
Ministry’s finding that there is no media activity and printing, leading to the
eviction of AJL and Young Indian from the Herald House. Sensing danger,
the Congress lawyer did not ask any further questions. The Congress
lawyers did not ponder much on the Income Tax findings, though Swamy
tried to bring the matter during his replies.
Legal experts say Congress leaders wanted to stretch the crossing of Swamy
and are expected to object to Swamy’s demand for daily crossing. The
entire transcripts of crossing of Subramanian Swamy are available at Bar &
Bench website [101] .
Feb 28 – Delhi HC slams Sonia
& Rahul of a clandestine
operation to float YIL. Orders
immediate eviction of Herald
House
Figure 117. Delhi HC Orders immediate eviction of Herald House. What next? Supreme Court?
I
n a big slap to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Delhi High Court on
Thursday observed that their company Young Indian acquired National
Herald newspaper’s publishing company Associated Journals Limited
(AJL) and its huge assets in a clandestine operation. Ratifying the Single
Bench’s order, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon
and Justice V K Rao ordered the immediate eviction of Herald House, the
headquarters of AJL.
The 63-page judgment detailed the various illegalities, ratifying the
December 2018 judgment of Justice Sunil Gaur ordering the eviction of
Herald House by the Urban Development Ministry (UDM). The Division
Bench took note of the fact that AJL has been taken over by Young Indian
Company for all practical purposes. It said: “This Court is conscious of the
fact that Young Indian Company is a charitable company, but modus
operandi was to acquire 99% of AJL's shares speaks volumes. The manner
in which it has been done is also questionable.”
The scathing observation by the Division Bench totally vindicates the first
criminal case filed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. AJL was represented
by Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Singhvi and the UDM by Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta. In the judgment, the Court observed that on many
occasions, AJL did not answered properly and tried to hide the
facts. Upholding the single bench view that the entire transaction of
transferring the shares of AJL to Young Indian was nothing but a
clandestine and surreptitious transfer of the lucrative interest in the
premises to Young India, the bench observed
“The judgment observed that with just Rs.50 lakhs, Sonia and Rahul
controlled the Young Indian became the owners of more than Rs.400 crores
worth owners of Herald House .”
“Even though Dr. Singhvi had argued that there is nothing wrong in such a
transaction and it is legally permissible, but if we take note of the principles
and the doctrine for which the theory of lifting of the corporate veil has
received legal recognition, we have no hesitation in holding that the entire
transaction of transferring the shares of AJL to Young Indian was nothing
but, as held by the learned writ Court, a clandestine and surreptitious
transfer of the lucrative interest in the premises to Young India. In fact, the
contention of Dr. Singhvi has to be rejected and rightly so was rejected by
the Single Judge even though without applying the principle of lifting of the
corporate veil. In case the theory of lifting of the corporate veil, as
discussed hereinabove, is applied and the transaction viewed by analyzing
as to what was the purpose for such a transaction, the so called innocent or
legal and permissible transaction as canvassed before us, in our considered
view, is not so simple or straight forward as put before us, but it only
indicates the dishonest and fraudulent design behind such a transaction as
laid down in various judgments.”
Now as a last resort, Congress lawyers will rush to Supreme Court against
the Delhi HC’s Division Bench judgment. Already, the final appeal against
the Income Tax Order exposing the Rs.413 crores asset-grabbing by Sonia
and Rahul is before the Supreme Court. In the main case, the crossexamination of Subramanian Swamy by Congress lawyers are to resume on
March 30.
Mar 12 – Exposed in the Herald
House frauds, Congress
leaders-led AJL appeals to SC,
accuses-BJP of pathological
animus to Nehru
Figure 118. Legal team of RaGa & Saga trying every tricks to save Herald House
lost in the lower courts, the defunct National Herald newspaper
H aving
publisher Associated Journals Limited (AJL) approached the Supreme
Court against the eviction from its headquarters Herald House, accusing
the ruling party BJP of having a “pathological animus” towards the first
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. AJL, which is owned by the top Congress
leadership was slammed by the Delhi High Court on February 28 and
ordered to leave the Herald House. AJL is now facing the Urban
Development Ministry’s final notice on March 1 of eviction from the
premises for serious frauds and violations committed in the garb of
advantages given to media firms.
“This court may be pleased to take judicial notice that the principal political
party of the incumbent ruling coalition dispensation at the Centre viz the
BJP (in its present form since 1980 and in its earlier avatar - the Bharatiya
Jana Sangh since 1951) harbours a pathological animus to the ideas of
Indian's first Prime Minister - Pandit Nehru, whom they incessantly and
viciously accuse of creation of a secular democratic republic where people
of all faiths have equal protection and equal access under the Constitution,”
the plea filed by AJL in the apex court said.
Terming the eviction proceedings before the single-judge bench and doublejudge bench in High Court as biased and malafide, the AJL in its appeal
said that its publication espouses the ideology of the Congress party, which
is presently the largest opposition party in the country.
“The eviction proceedings have been initiated for the purposes of scuttling
the voice of democratic dissent of the Congress Party. It is a clear affront to
the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of
the Constitution and a deliberate attempt to suppress and destroy the legacy
of the first Prime Minister of the country i. e. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was
the guiding light for the publications of the petitioner-company,” it said.
The Division Bench of High Court, comprising Chief Justice Rajendra
Menon and Justice V K Rao outlined all frauds committed by the Sonia
Gandhi-and-Rahul Gandhi-controlled firm Young Indian for dubiously
acquiring AJL and controlling its huge land assets across the country worth
more than Rs.5000 crores. The 63-page judgment detailed the various
illegalities, ratifying the December 2018 judgment of Justice Sunil Gaur
ordering the eviction of Herald House by the Urban Development Ministry.
The Division Bench took note of the fact that AJL has been taken over by
Young Indian Company for all practical purposes. It said: “This Court is
conscious of the fact that Young Indian Company is a charitable company,
but modus operandi was to acquire 99% of AJL’s shares speaks volumes.
The manner in which it has been done is also questionable.”
Swamy vindicated
The scathing observation by the Division Bench totally vindicates the first
criminal case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. AJL was
represented by Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Singhvi and the
Urban Development Ministry by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. In the
judgment, the Court observed that on many occasions, AJL did not answer
properly and tried to hide the facts. Upholding the single bench view that
the entire transaction of transferring the shares of AJL to Young Indian was
nothing but a clandestine and surreptitious transfer of the lucrative interest
in the premises to Young India, the bench observed that with just Rs.50
lakhs, Sonia and Rahul controlled the Young Indian became the owners of
more than Rs.400 crores worth owners of Herald House [102] .
This is the last chance for AJL to object to the eviction from Herald House.
Already, the final appeal against the Income Tax Order exposing the Rs.413
crores fine for asset-grabbing by Sonia and Rahul is before the Supreme
Court. In the main case, the cross-examination of Subramanian Swamy by
Congress lawyers is set to resume on March 30.
May 29 – ED attaches Rs.64
crores-worth Panchkula office
of NH for money laundering
Figure 119. One by one, the offices of NH are being attached with panchkula being the latest
n a major crackdown in the National Herald (NH) case, the Enforcement
I Directorate
(ED) has taken possession of the Rs.64 crores-worth building
and property in Panchkula, allotted to the newspaper publishing company
Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The Adjudicating Authority under
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Wednesday confirmed
ED’s move to attach Panchkula property in December 2018. The Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED have registered charge sheets against
then Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda and officials for illegally
allotting the land in 2005.
Congress leader Motilal Vora is the Managing Director of the Public
Limited Company AJL. Other Directors are Congress leaders Oscar
Fernadez and Sonia Gandhi family’s associates Sam Pitroda and Suman
Dubey. In 2011, this 80-year-old public limited company was covertly taken
over by a private company named Young Indian, owned by Sonia Gandhi
and Rahul Gandhi. Both have 38 percent shares each in this newly floated
firm with no assets. Through a dubious way, Young Indian took over 99.9%
shares of the AJL, which has more than Rs.2000 crores worth land assets
across India, spanning from Delhi, Panchkula, Lucknow, Mumbai etc. The
bizarre fraud was exposed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in
November 2012. Currently, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and other
Congress leaders are out on bail in the criminal case filed by Subramanian
Swamy.
In mid-2014, Swamy filed cases to Income Tax, ED, CBI and state
governments of Haryana, Maharashtra to probe into the land allotment
frauds, tax frauds in the National Herald case. Income Tax has imposed a
heavy fine of Rs.414 crores on Young Indian, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi and currently the case is pending before Supreme Court after the
appeal is filed by the accused [103] .
.”..Since the value of plot (in Panchkula) fraudulently allotted to AJL has
represented proceeds of crime, the ED has attached plot under the PMLA
act,” the ED had said in a statement. Now, the ED said Wednesday, that the
Adjudicating Authority of PMLA “has held that defendants have committed
the schedule offence, generated proceeds of crime and further found that
the properties attached are proceeds of crime beyond any doubt and thereby
ordered for confirmation of the provisional attachments order .”
With this approval, the ED is empowered to take possession of the land and
erect its authority signage over the plot that disallows any trespass or
activity by anybody over the asset. However, the plot can be finally
transferred to the government exchequer once the trial in the case concludes
in favour of the agency, officials said.
National Heralds’ headquarters in Delhi – Herald House – is already facing
eviction and takeover notice from the Ministry of Urban Development. The
case is currently pending in Supreme Court on the appeal filed by the
accused. Maharashtra Government has formed a committee headed by
officials to look into the illegality of land allotment in Bandra. This prime
land was illegally given to some real estate lobby and the Committee found
lot of violations in 2016 [104] . However, the Maharashtra Government has
not taken further action on this blatant violation and illegalities in Bandra
land allotments.
N o v 1 3 – D r. S w a m y , t h e
unstoppable force
Figure 120. Dr. Swamy, the unstoppable force, every one from within and outside wanted him
out but still he won’t give up
I
t is a known fact that Dr. Swamy was not supported by the present
Government in his fight against Corruption and the Ram Janmabhoomi
case.
Even in court proceedings, Dr. Swamy had no backing. In fact, bottlenecks
were created within by a few elements to protect and safeguard the past
regime's corrupt officials. Many a time, the Government appointed lawyer
would fail to show up!
The 2G case and its judgment during the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA) period in the public domain; the Govt officers failed to perform their
duties of presenting a watertight case. A few of the Govt. officers had
connections with 2G scam accused and a deep-rooted conspiracy to weaken
the prosecution prevailed.
Dr. Swamy singlehandedly fought UPA's corruption charges in the 2G case
prior to 2014 and got a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court in
which the spectrum licenses got canceled. The same trend did not reflect in
the 2G case judgment during the NDA period. The case collapsed in the
Special Court with all accused being acquitted and an adverse comment by
the Honourable Judge on the prosecution's role in presenting evidence
during the trial. Now the matter is on appeal in the High Court and it is
hoped that justice will be delivered this time.
Ex FM P Chidambaram's investigation on multiple corruption cases was
internally sabotaged during the 2014 - 2019 period. Crucial information
from Govt agencies was leaked to the accused to counter moves. In this
matter, Dr. Swamy was determined to take on the Ex-FM P Chidambaram
all alone and submitted new crucial evidence of Karti Chidambaram's
Foreign bank accounts, Foreign Properties, Foreign investments, details of
corruption, etc. Only after the general election of 2019, has the case moved
positively and now an indisputable case is framed against the accused.
When you review the National Herald case which Dr. Swamy filed prior to
2014, he didn't have any backing from BJP led NDA after it came to power.
It was like a One-Man Army taking on the mighty Gandhi Family and their
squad which was the ruling party then. The case is based on documentary
evidence which presented their wrongdoings, and the outcome is likely by
the first half of the next year.
Even in the Ram Janmabhoomi case, Dr. Swamy faced difficulties due to
opposition from within the Govt. They systematically opposed Dr. Swamy's
role for its early hearing in the case. They wanted him out and ignored his
valid plea on faith & fundamental right to pray. Misguided Govt affidavit
was submitted during the proceedings. In fact, Govt had no role in the Ram
Janmabhoomi case.
Eventually, Dr. Swamy's hard work paid off with the Supreme Court listing
hearing and the final judgment, in favor of the Hindus.
Dr. Swamy's role in the fight against Corruption and the Ram Janmabhoomi
case should be appreciated and lauded. He is a true Corruption Crusader
and Hindu Hriday Samrat.
N o v 1 6 – I n c o m e Ta x Tr i b u n a l
exposes the frauds and dubious
activities of Sonia & Rahul i n
acquiring properties of NH
Figure 121. ITAT confirms the fraud committed in acquiring in assests of AJL
he doors are closing step-by-step for Congress President Sonia Gandhi
and son Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. The Appellate
Tribunal’s Order dated November 15, ratifying the Income Tax Order of
canceling Charitable activities exemption certificate reiterates the fact that
mother and son controlled firm Young Indian committed a series of blatant
frauds in grabbing the assets of the National Herald newspaper publishing
T
company Associated Journal Limited (AJL).
After canceling the tax exemption certificate Income Tax has fined Young
Indian Rs.249 crores, finding that the shell firm has a taxable income of
Rs.414 crores1 . The Income Tax Department also ordered a re-assessment
of the incomes of Sonia and Rahul and they lost the case in Delhi High
Court2 . Now the case is pending in the Supreme Court and is listed for
November 29.
The Appellate Tribunal’s 175-page Order (the link is given in Appendix 6)
reiterates the frauds committed to dubiously acquiring thousands of crores
worth assets of the National Herald publishing company in Delhi,
Panchkula, Mumbai, Patna, Lucknow, and other metro cities. The
Tribunal’s Order also lays bare the lies floated by the Congress leaders. In
many areas of the Order, the Tribunal headed by Amit Shukla and Prashant
Maharishi lists in detail the frauds and lies of the Congress leaders.
Scam exposed by Swamy
When the National Herald scam was exposed by BJP leader Subramanian
Swamy, the Congress leaders claimed that they took Rs.90 crores loan from
Congress party to save party’s debt-ridden newspaper. The Tax authorities
probe exposes that there was no such loan and that this fake loan claim was
a cock & bull story to dubiously take over thousands of crores worth assets
of National herald, spread across many cities.
The Tribunal Order also reveals the fact that in the garb of journalism, the
National Herald’s covert operation after the takeover by Sonia and Rahul
was just to acquire the huge land assets. The Order also shows that a onecrore-loan later claimed as a donation from a Kolkata based shell firm
Dotex was nothing but money laundering. In a nutshell, the Tribunal Order
says that using the fake loan or donation of Rs.50 lakhs, Sonia and Rahul
controlled firm Young Indian covertly acquired thousands of crores-worth
assets of National Herald publishing firm AJL.
NH Digital operation a sham
The Order also says that the digital operation of the National Herald was
nothing but a sham to avoid cases and just to show that they are engaged in
media newspaper activity. Government has already issued orders to vacate
the Herald House and Delhi High Court has already ratified it. Now the
Congress leaders appeal is pending before Supreme Court and expected to
be listed on November 25.
In the main criminal case filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy that is now
in the cross-examination stage, the Congress leaders are, for the past one
year, engaged in crossing the petitioner. The next date for crossing is
scheduled on November 29 and 30 and Swamy has already urged day-today hearing in the case and the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
Samar Vishal, heading the special fast track court of MPs and MLAs said
that he would consider starting day-to-day hearing from January 2020.
The 175-page Order of the Appellate Tribunal is published as a link in
Appendix 6.
2020
Apr 07 – Sonia must surrender
more than Rs.5000 crores-worth
assets of NH grabbed by her
Figure 122. Sonia Gandhi should give back NH properties and back taxes before preaching
austerity measures to GOI
ongress President Sonia Gandhi has come out with an obnoxious
demand of a complete ban of Central Government’s advertisements in
all media including Print, Television, and Online platforms for two
years in the wake of the Corona crisis. In a letter to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, she urged this as the first demand saying that by this ban on
C
advertisements Central Government can save Rs.1250 crores per year. That
works out to Rs.2500 crores in two years.
While making this atrocious demand, we must remember that Sonia Gandhi
has captured the Congress party’s newspaper – ‘National Herald’ and is
holding more than Rs.5000 crores-worth land and building assets across the
country including in plush locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow,
Panchkula, and Indore. National Herald newspaper was started in 1938 by
Congress leaders under a public limited company – Associated Journals Ltd
(AJL) - and after India’s independence, many Governments allotted huge
benefits including lands across the country. Sonia Gandhi was interested
only in the newspaper’s huge land assets and closed down the newspaper
publishing in 2008. By the end of 2010, she dubiously formed a private
company (76% of shares owned by Sonia and son Rahul) named as Young
Indian and grabbed 99.3% shares of AJL.
Now she is facing criminal charges in the National Herald grabbing case
filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and Income Tax charges for tax
evasion as well. The Government has also ordered the eviction of its
headquarters (Herald House) in Delhi worth around Rs.1000 crores. The
Income Tax case and eviction case is now pending before the Supreme
Court after Sonia Gandhi lost the cases in all lower courts. The Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have
also filed cases against Congress leaders in the Panchkula land grabbing
case.
If Sonia Gandhi is so concerned about India’s financial position, she must
surrender all the lands worth more than Rs.5000 crores belonging to the
erstwhile newspaper National Herald company to the Government of India.
NBA deplores Congress letter
The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) on Tuesday “strongly deplored”
Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s suggestion of complete ban of Central
Government advertisement in all sorts of media including print, television
and online for two years to tackle the financial crisis due to Corona crisis.
In a statement, the NBA President Rajat Sharma said that Sonia’s statement
was demoralising and asked for the withdrawal of the statement.
“At a time when media personnel without fearing for their lives are doing
their national duty by disseminating news on the pandemic, a statement like
this from the Congress is highly demoralising. NBA calls upon Congress
President Sonia Gandhi to withdraw her suggestions made to Prime
Minister on a complete ban on media advertisements for two years in the
interest of a healthy and free media,” said Sharma.
Practice what you preach
Why is Sonia Gandhi not asking the Congress-ruled states to stop their
advertisement in media? Her cunning idea is to limit the publication of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo published in the Central
Government advertisements. Some media-friendly Congress leaders accuse
former Minister Jairam Ramesh of giving this “brilliant(!) idea” of
scrapping Central Government advertisements. It is an open secret that
penning erudite prose is beyond the capabilities of the Sonia/ RaGa/ PriVa
trio. So, it must have been written by someone and just signed by Sonia.
Her other four demands were the suspension of construction of the
Rs.20,000 crores-worth Central Vista Project, ban on Modi and other
Minister’s foreign visits, 30% cut in Government expenses and transfer
PM-CARES funds to PMNRF. These demands expose her hatred towards
Modi. Why she wants Modi to not travel abroad is a mystery. These things
expose the pettiness of and the cunning nature of Sonia Gandhi.
Figure 123. Congress diversion?
Let me reiterate - Sonia must surrender the more than Rs.5000 crores-worth
assets of erstwhile National Herald newspaper grabbed by her instead of
calling for a complete ban on Central Government’s advertisements in
media for two years. If Sonia is so concerned about India, she should pay
back the Rs.414 crores illegal gain (findings of Income Tax in 2018) from
grabbing the assets of the National Herald newspaper [105] . The Italian born
Sonia, the land where the word fascism originated has shown her true
colors.
M a y 0 9 – E D a t t a c h e s 11 - f l o o r
building in Bandra East,
Mumbai for money laundering
Figure 124. ED attaches National Herald Bandra property of NH
slap to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul
I n a big
Gandhi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday attached the
defunct National Herald newspaper company Associated Journal Limited
(AJL)’s 11-floor building in Bandra East in Mumbai under the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). AJL’s 99.3 percent shares are
controlled by the dubious firm Young Indian, where Sonia and Rahul own
76 percent of the shares. Congress leadership bagged this prime property in
1983 in Bandra East for office and printing of National Herald’s Mumbai
edition. By mid-2000, Congress leaders engaged in deals with real estate
firms and managed to get an approval to build 9 floors and two basement
floors.
Though the book value of the property is recorded at around Rs.17 crores,
the market value is expected to be above Rs.500 crores. After filing a case
against Sonia & Rahul in the trial court, petitioner and Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy filed complaints to many agencies
including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the ED, the Urban
Development Ministry, Income Tax and many State Governments against
the massive properties of National Herald publishing company AJL, which
is covertly grabbed by Sonia and Rahul controlled Young Indian.
The Haryana Government has transferred the probe to the CBI on
Panchkula property saying that this is a massive fraud involving many
states. The CBI has registered a case against former Haryana Chief Minister
Bhupinder Hooda and the AJL Managing Director and the then Congress
Treasurer Motilal Vora and ED attached the plush property in Panchkula.
Bandra property attachment is the second attachment in the National Herald
case. Maharashtra Government’s probe had proved many illegalities in the
Bandra East land and involvement of Congress leaders in covertly handing
over the newspaper company’s property to real estate sharks [106] .
The ED found that Panchkula property was valued at Rs.120 crores and
AJL took a loan from Syndicate Bank’s Delhi ITO Branch to build 11 floors
in Bandra East property by top Congress leadership, who are the loyalists of
Sonia Gandhi family. Income Tax has already charged Sonia and Rahul of
tax evasion of more Rs. 414 crores and the case are presently pending in the
Supreme Court. The National Herald’s headquarters in Delhi – Herald
House – is already facing eviction from Urban Development Ministry and
the case is currently pending on appeal by Congress leadership in Supreme
Court.
The main case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in the trial court
against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, and other Congress
leaders is in the cross-examination phase.
Jun 26 – Government must take
back the land and building
illegally used by Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation: Subramanian
Swamy
Figure 125. Swamy writes to PM, strongly recommends Govt. take back land and building
allotted to RGF
JP leader Subramanian Swamy urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Friday to direct the Urban Development Ministry to take back the land
allotted to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation at the heart of New Delhi. In
his letter to the Prime Minister, Swamy pointed out that in 2015 he filed a
B
petition to the Ministry citing the illegalities of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation
using the prime property which was actually allotted to Congress party in
1988.
“Much information has come in the public domain about the fraud of the
Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. I had written a letter to the Ministry of Urban
Ministry several years ago, pointing out that RGF building was built on the
plot on the Raisina Road that was granted by the Ministry of Urban
Development for building the Congress party office. But instead, the
building has been usurped by RGF. I strongly recommend Government
taking back the plot and nationalisng the building ,” said Swamy in his
letter to Modi.
Subramanian Swamy’s tweet on RGF scam is shown below:
Figure 126. RGF scam
How did Sonia Gandhi grab the plot allotted for Congress party
headquarters?
In 1988, a year prior to first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s centenary
year (1989), Government (then ruled by Rajiv Gandhi) allotted a prime plot
to the Congress party to build a big headquarters named Jawahar Bhawan.
Across India, Congress workers collected more than Rs.500 crores for the
construction of their headquarters. Many Corporates also donated money
and it was known to all that the building was actually constructed by the
late Dhirubhai Ambani. There were two sources of income– Congress
workers collected money across the country and the Corporates pitched in
too. Meanwhile, after the 30th day of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi,
June 21, 1991, Sonia Gandhi started the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF)
and slowly usurped the building meant for Congress party’s headquarters.
This is a clear violation. The land was allotted for Congress party’s
headquarters and now using as Sonia family’s private foundation.
The irony is that the Congress headquarters is still working at the old
building at 24, Akbar Road, neighboring Sonia Gandhis’ home at 10,
Janpath Road. In 2009, Congress party and all political parties were given
land at Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg area. The Congress party is yet to
construct its headquarters, while even cashless Communist parties made
their offices in the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg area.
After filing a complaint against the illegal use of Herald House in the
National Herald case, Subramanian Swamy in 2015 filed a petition to
Urban Development Ministry for taking back the land illegally used by
Sonia Gandhi family-controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Swamy also
demanded a probe of RGF operating in tax haven Seychelles too.
Dec 05 –Swamy demands
summoning of Income Tax
documents and crucial
witnesses. Sonia-Rahul lawyers
cite COVID, seeking more t i m e
to cross Swamy
Figure 127. Swamy demands summoning of Income Tax documents and crucial witnesses
to speed up the procedures in the National Herald case trial,
T rying
petitioner BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday approached trial
court for summoning crucial Income Tax orders, Income Tax officials,
Land Development Department’s order for evicting Herald House and its
officials, and other witnesses. Swamy also demanded summoning of former
Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi who issued a statement on
behalf of Congress saying on November 2, 2012, about Congress giving
Rs.90 crores loan to National Herald newspaper publishing company
Associated Journals Limited and ‘The Pioneer’ newspaper journalist J
Gopikrishnan who reported his email communications with Rahul Gandhi
on the relaunch of National Herald newspaper.
On December 5 (Saturday) the case was scheduled for resuming crossexamination of Subramanian Swamy by the accused. But the advocates of
the accused Congress leaders were not ready, citing their inability to present
in Court due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last cross-examination was in
March 2020 and for the past more than two years the main accused Sonia
Gandhi’s lawyers have been examining Swamy. The BJP leader has already
demanded the Court for day-to-day hearing in the case and the next hearing
is scheduled on December 23.
In his application for summoning documents and witnesses, Swamy also
sought summoning of Secretary-General (Registry Officer) Supreme Court
Sanjeev S Kalgaonar, Deputy Land and Development Officer Rajnish
Kumar Jha, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (Circle-1) Saket Singh.
For the past three years, after Swamy produced the photocopy of Income
Tax orders exposing the huge tax violation of more than Rs.414 crores by
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi-headed firms, the accused persons were
challenging the authenticity photocopy of the Order. Swamy countered that
these documents were relied on by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the
High Court and Supreme Court in their petitions against the Supreme Court.
PGurus already published the 105-page Order of Income Tax department on
the Rs. 414 crore tax evasion by Gandhi family using National Herald
newspaper.
“This case is a quintessential case of documentary evidence. Due to the fact
that there are many documents that have been annexed to the Chief
Examination of the Complainant, which are public documents, which have
been marked; these are certified copies of these public documents ,” the
application of Swamy said.
“Due to the fact that these are marked documents, these documents need to
be proved through the testimony of the appropriate witnesses. It is
reiterated that as the complainant’s case is a quintessential case of the
evidence being documentary evidence, therefore these documents need to be
proved through their witnesses ,” it said.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sachin Gupta on December 5
adjourned the matter for December 23 as the lawyers from the accused side
did not appear physically and sought an adjournment.
Earlier, several times, the accused Congress leaders were objecting to the
submission of documents and witnesses. Apart from Subramanian Swamy’s
case in the trial court, Congress leaders are facing two cases in the Supreme
Court. One is the Income Tax charges of Rs.414 crores-tax-evasion and the
other is eviction from the Herald House, the headquarters of the defunct
National Herald newspaper. Congress leaders lost these two cases in Delhi
High Court in 2018 and their appeal is pending before the Supreme Court.
The Enforcement Directorate has already attached two big plush buildings
of the National Herald in Panchkula and Bandra in Mumbai.
Dec 24 – Sonia, Rahul object to
production of IT and Herald
House eviction notices
Figure 128. Lawyers of the accussed try more delay tactics in NH case
I n c o m e Ta x a n d U r b a n D e v e l o p m e n t M i n i s t r y
documents expose the frauds in National
Herald
C
ongress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday
objected to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s demand for production of
Income Tax notices and Urban Development Ministry’s notices in the
National Herald case. Instead of producing the documents served to the
accused persons which they already produced in Delhi High Court and
Supreme Court, the Congress leaders in their objection affidavit said that
Swamy is trying to delay the process and his demand petition was vague in
nature.
For more than two years from July 2018, Congress leaders are spending
time cross-examining Swamy, and, in the affidavit, they said that the
demand for other process and approval of the list of witnesses can be filed
later after the current process. At present, the Income Tax notice of more
than Rs.400 crores tax evasion and eviction of Herald House is pending
before the Supreme Court. In both cases, Congress lost the case in Delhi
High Court and now the appeals are pending in the apex court.
“The present application is liable to be dismissed being totally vague;
tainted by inordinate delay and dilatory in nature,” the counsel appearing
for the accused said. “The present application is also liable to be dismissed
as the present application does not conform to the relevant provision ,” the
counsel told Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sachin Gupta. In
reply to the application, the accused said that while it was the legal right of
Swamy to submit a list of witnesses sought to be summoned by him, the
court was not conducting a “roving inquiry.”
“The complainant has not submitted any list of witnesses even though the
recording of pre-charge evidence had commenced on July 21, 2018, when
the complainant himself stepped into the witness box. Needless to say that
the application has to satisfy the procedure prescribed by law ,” said the
Congress leaders objecting to Swamy’s demand for production of
documents and witnesses.
Reacting to Congress leaders’ objection, Swamy said that why they object
on producing the Income Tax and other notices to them and asked to agree
for the day-to-day hearing?
Figure 129. Swamy's tweet
Income Tax and Urban Development Ministry documents expose the frauds
in National Herald and that is why Congress leadership is objecting the
production of these documents in the trial court. PGurus have published the
Income Tax documents exposing the huge tax evasion of more than Rs.400
crores by Sonia and Rahul controlled company Young Indian. The 105-page
Income Tax findings are ratified by Delhi High Court already.
The application moved by Swamy had sought summoning of SecretaryGeneral Sanjeev S Kalgaonar (Registry officer) Supreme Court of India,
Rajnish Kumar Jha (Dy Land & Development officer), Saket Singh, Deputy
Commissioner of Income Tax Circle-1 and a Congress official who issued a
press statement on November 2, 2012. Swamy also sought summoning of
journalist J Gopikrishnan, also as a witness. Rahul Gandhi earlier wrote to
the journalist that there is no re-launch of the newspaper.
There are seven accused in the case - Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, senior
Congress leaders Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Motilal
Vora, who recently passed away, and the company Young Indian.
List of References and
authors
1. Gandhis request a Judge change in NH Case – Oct 14, 2015,
Team PGurus
2. Congress asserts that Young Indian deals are above board –
Oct 23, 2015, W IANS inputs
3. National Herald case: judgment Reserved – Dec 05, 2015,
Team PGurus
4. Dr. Swamy prevails in #NHCase in Delhi HC – Dec 07,
2015, Sree Iyer
5. Congress cries #NHCase as Political vendetta - We beg to
disagree – Dec 08, 2015, Team PGurus
6. Congress, Trinamool stage walkout in Lok Sabha – Dec 10,
2015, Team PGurus
7. Rahul Gandhi’s comments on #NationalHerald case an
insult to democracy – Dec 12, 2015, W IANS inputs
8. Reforms could get derailed by National Herald slugfest –
Dec 13, 2015, W IANS inputs
9. Instead of a Nehru Memorial Library, Congress Bhavan
building construction coming on AJLl Mumbai Plot – Dec
17, 2015, Team PGurus
10. 10.
Sonia, Rahul granted bail;
Congress lambasts Modi – Dec 19, 2015, W IANS inputs
11.11.
National Herald: Sonia, Rahul
may seek bail – Dec 19, 2015, W IANS inputs
12. 12.
Congress in the dock over fresh
expose in National Herald Case – Dec 22, 2015, Team
PGurus
13. 13.
Sai Prasad Society constructed to
accommodate senior Congress leaders and bureaucrats on
land adjacent to National Herald plot – Dec 23, 2015, Team
PGurus
14. 14.
Subramanian Swamy seeks to
force ED to reveal its stand in NH case – Jan 03, 2016, Team
PGurus
15. 15.
Ex-employees of National Herald
to protest in Lucknow – Jan 03, 2016, W IANS inputs
16. 16.
4 things I would do if I were the
Finance Minister: Dr. Swamy – Jan 29, 2016, Sree Iyer
17. 17.
Why would RaGa, SoGa appeal
the #NHCase HC verdict in Supreme Court? – Feb 05,
2016, IANS
18. 18.
Supreme Court likely to hear
Sonia, Rahul plea in Herald case on Friday – Feb 12, 2016,
W IANS inputs
19. 19.
Supreme Court orders Gandhis
back to Patiala house for the National Herald-case – Feb 13,
2016, W IANS inputs
20. 20.
Rahul Gandhi’s British Bank
account revealed – Feb 23, 2016, Team PGurus
21. 21.
NHCase: Peon gets his “15
minutes fame” – Mar 22, 2016, Team PGurus
22. 22.
Delhi HC reserves judgment
#NHCase files – Apr 19, 2016, Team PGurus
23.
India - Global Economic Power
Dr. Swamy can show way… – Jun 01, 2016, Team PGurus
24.
Shaktikanta Das and his role in
Aircel-Maxis and National Herald cases – Jun 25, 2016,
Team PGurus
25.
NH case: Swamy urges Urban
Development Ministry to take over Herald House – Aug 12,
2016, Team PGurus
26.
National Herald: Case court issued
notice to Sonia, Rahul on Swamy’s plea for summoning
documents – Aug 27, 2016, Team PGurus
27.
Would reviving newspapers help
the Gandhis in the NHCase? – Sep 06, 2016, Team PGurus
28.
Sonia and Rahul object to
summoning of documents in National herald case. – Sep 18,
2016, Team PGurus
29.
National herald – ED summons
Motilal Vora in Panchkula land deals – Nov 08, 2016, Team
PGurus
30.
National Herald website launch a
cover-up to beg mercy from the Court? – Nov 15, 2016,
Team PGurus
31.
Court decide on summoning
documents in NH case on Dec 26 – Dec 09, 2016, Team
PGurus
32.
Blast from the Past: Patel - Nehru
letters exposes the frauds in fund collection for NH – Dec
09, 2016, Team PGurus
33.
Court dismisses Swamy’s petition
for docs from Govt & Congress. Directs to file appropriate
petition – Dec 26, 2016, Team PGurus
34.
CBI files FIR against Hooda and
AJL in National Herald case – Sends shivers to Sonia and
Rahul – Apr 06, 2017, Team PGurus
35.
Enforcement Directorate questions
Vora and Hooda in National Herald case – Apr 21, 2017,
Team PGurus
36.
National Herald case: Swamy files
application to summon Hooda. Congress-objects – Apr 22,
2017, Team PGurus
37.
National Herald case: Delhi High
Court rejects Sonia & Rahul petition to quash Income Tax
action – May 12, 2017, Team PGurus
38.
Daya, Daal mein kuch kala hai! –
May 13, 2017, Team PGurus
39.
IT was aware 13 years ago of
Congress party’s illegal fund flows into National Herald –
May 13, 2017, Team PGurus
40.
National Herald: Gandhi family
unravelling – May 13, 2017, Sandhya Jain
41.
Swamy writes to CBI, ED
Directors to book Sonia and Rahul in National Herald case
– May 14, 2017, Team PGurus
42.
The Doctrine Cy-pres National
Herald – May 14, 2017, Swami Nathan
43.
National Herald scam explained
one cartoon – May 15, 2017, Team PGurus
44.
HC rejects Motilal Vora’s petition
against ED in Money Laundering probe in National Herald
case – May 24, 2017, Team PGurus
45.
National Herald case: Swamy
applies documents Congress-AJL money trail – Jul 01,
2017, Team PGurus
46.
Meanwhile, in INC’s backyard –
Jul 21, 2017, Team PGurus
47.
Ye le, Bofors ka Ghotala – Jul 22,
2017, Team PGurus
48.
National Herald: Cong objects to
supply of documents – Aug 05, 2017, Team PGurus
49.
Magistrate son terminated from
service. Is the father, Justice V P Vaish in trouble too? –
Aug 21, 2017, Team PGurus
50.
Swamy Praises PM Modi on Fight
against Corruption Lists out 7 Crucial Cases on which CBI
not acting – Oct 22, 2017, Team PGurus
51.
National Herald case – Sonia &
Rahul reject cross verification of documents, allege Swamy
is delaying – Nov 18, 2017, Team PGurus
52.
Fight against corruption must be
one of the main New Year Resolutions of PM modi – Jan 01,
2018, Sree Iyer
53.
Income Tax fixes Sonia-Rahul firm
Young Indian for Rs.414 crore gains from National Herald
frauds. Calls Congress Rs.90 crores loan claim “bogus” –
Jan 20, 2018, Team PGurus
54.
National Herald case: Read 105page Income Tax Assessment Order against Young Indian
exposing Rs.414 crores gain – Jan 22, 2018, Team PGurus
55.
Conspiracy
Theory:
Who
Delivered IT Papers of National Herald to Dr. Swamy?! –
Jan 23, 2018, Team PGurus
56.
Or did the newspaper man deliver
the IT report?! – Jan 24, 2018, Team PGurus
57.
The silence of Congress on the
Income Tax Assessment Order in National Herald case is
deafening – Jan 24, 2018, Sree Iyer
58.
National Herald case: Delhi HC
orders Young Indian to deposit Rs 10.cr in Income Tax
recovery notice of Rs.250 crores – Mar 19, 2018, Team
PGurus
59.
National Herald case: Why is
Congress quiet on the IT fine of Rs.249.15 cr on SoniaRahul company? – Mar 28, 2018, Team PGurus
60.
Is kapil Sibal dilly-dallying on
answering the allegations of controversial company
purchase and land acquisition? – Mar 31, 2018, Team
PGurus
61.
National Herald case: Congress
objects on agreeing to their own documents. Arguments to
start on May 5 – Apr 21, 2018, Team PGurus
62.
National Herald case: Court to
pass orders on May 26 for production of documents.
Congress continues to object to producing documents –
May 06, 2018, Team PGurus
63.
National Herald case: Court to
pass orders on May 26 for production of documents.
Congress continues to object to producing documents –
May 14, 2018, Team PGurus
64.
The Special Court fast tracks
National Herald trial. Allows Swamy to produce documents
and summon officials – May 26, 2018, Team PGurus
65.
National
Herald
case
–
Subramanian Swamy starts submitting evidence – Jun 21,
2018, Team PGurus
66.
Congress leaders file petition to
restrain Subramanian Swamy from Tweeting on National
Herald – Jun 21, 2018, Team PGurus
67.
National Herald frauds: Urban
Development Ministry issues notice to takeover the Herald
House – Aug 05, 2018, Team PGurus
68.
Income Tax catches Rahul for
hushing up Young Indian Directorship Rs.154 crores
income. Rahul approaches Delhi HC to quash Tax order –
Aug 08, 2018, Team PGurus
69.
Income Tax also catches Sonia
Gandhi for hushing up Directorship of Young Indian and
hushing Rs.154 crores in the National Herald case – Aug 14,
2018, Team PGurus
70.
RaGa and SoGa demand for
restraining Swamy from tweeting about the case – Aug 18,
2018, Team PGurus
71.
National Herald scam gets
murkier. Urban Development Ministry’s Show Cause
Notice exposes more frauds – Aug 24, 2018, Team PGurus
72.
National Herald case – Swamy
produces Income Tax authenticated documents puncturing
Congress Rs.90 cr loan claim as evidence – Aug 25, 2018,
Team PGurus
73.
Delhi High Court dismisses SoniaRahul Gandhi petitions against Income Tax re-assessing in
National Herald case – Sep 10, 2018, Team PGurus
74.
Mr. Arun Jaitley, hope you have
learnt your lesson for treating Sonia family with kid gloves.
You owe answers in Mallya exit – Sep 14, 2018, Sree Iyer
75.
Will Yantra/ Tantra/ Mantra save
RaGa from Dr. Swamy Satyamevajayate! – Sep 17, 2018,
Team PGurus
76.
National Herald case – Swamy
completes submission of evidence. Congress leaders to start
cross-examination on October 27 – Sep 17, 2018, Team
PGurus
77.
National Herald case – Congress
demands Court restrain Swamy from Tweeting – Oct 06,
2018, Team PGurus
78.
Subramanian
Swamy’s
anti
corruption, legal battles and its effect on South Indian
politics – Oct 16, 2018, Team PGurus
79.
Swamy demands authentication of
his tweets from Congress lawyer. Crossing of Swamy in
National Herald case to begin on Nov 17 – Oct 20, 2018,
Team PGurus
80.
Government issues notice to
Herald House to vacate by November 15. Congress
leadership rushes to Court – Nov 12, 2018, Team PGurus
81.
Court rejects Congress petition to
restrain Subramanian Swamy from Tweeting in National
Herald case – Nov 20, 2018, Team PGurus
82.
ED attaches illegally allotted posh
property to National Herald in Panchkula – Dec 03, 2018,
Team PGurus
83.
Delhi HC orders AJL to vacate
Herald House within two weeks. Observes violations in
Sonia & Rahul firms takeover – Dec 21, 2018, Team PGurus
84.
Herald House – The Party Begins
– Dec 22, 2018, Team PGurus
85.
A covert operation in CBDT to
save Sonia and Rahul from Income Tax case in National
herald collapses – Jan 05, 2019, Team PGurus
86.
Swamy urges PM to order a probe
on who is behind the dubious CBDT Circular to save Sonia
& Rahul from National Herald case – Jan 14, 2019, Team
PGurus
87.
National Herald case – Crossexamination of Subramanian Swamy by Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer begins on a low key – Feb 05, 2019,
Team PGurus
88.
Delhi HC slams Sonia & Rahul of
a landestine operation to float Young Indian company.
Orders immediate eviction of Herald House – Feb 28, 2019,
Team PGurus
89.
Exposed in the Herald House
frauds, Congress leaders-led firm AJL appeals to SC and
accuses-BJP of pathological animus to Nehru – Mar 12,
2019, Team PGurus
90.
ED attaches Rs.64 crores-worth
Panchkula office of National Herald for money laundering
– May 29, 2019, Team PGurus
91.
Dr. Swamy, the unstoppable force
– Nov 13, 2019, Natraj Shetty
92.
Income Tax Tribunal exposes the
frauds and dubious activities of Sonia & Rahul in acquiring
properties of National Herald – Nov 16, 2019, Team PGurus
93.
Chidambaram’s Tihar Century,
more to go… – Nov 30, 2019, Team PGurus
94.
Sonia must surrender more than
Rs.5000 crore-worth assets of National Herald grabbed by
her instead of demanding a ban on Central Govt’s
advertisements to media – Apr 07, 2020, Sree Iyer
95.
National Herald case – ED
attaches 11-floor building in Bandra East, Mumbai for
money laundering – May 09, 2020, Team PGurus
96.
Government must take back the
land and building illegally used by Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation: Subramanian Swamy – Jun 26, 2020, Team
PGurus
97.
National
Herald
case
–
Subramanian Swamy demands summoning of Income Tax
documents and crucial witnesses. Sonia-Rahul lawyers cite
COVID, seeking more time to cross Swamy – Dec 05, 2020,
Team PGurus
98.
National Herald case – Sonia and
Rahul object to production of Income Tax and Herald
House eviction notices – Dec 24, 2020, Team PGurus
Index
2
2G · 16, 116, 122, 123, 240, 244, 245, 304, 346, 394
A
Abhishek Manu Singhvi · 29, 109, 182
AJL · 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 28, 29, 48, 49, 51, 52, 64, 77, 86, 87, 90, 91, 94, 95, 102, 103, 104, 107,
109, 128, 129, 133, 134, 136, 144, 145, 148, 149, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176,
177, 183, 186, 187, 188, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 210, 211, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219,
220, 224, 225, 237, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 254, 257, 260, 265, 270, 278, 289, 296, 298, 299,
306, 307, 308, 317, 321, 322, 323, 325, 326, 329, 331, 340, 341, 354, 355, 361, 362, 363, 364,
365, 366, 367, 371, 377, 380, 382, 383, 385, 386, 387, 388, 390, 391, 396, 397, 398, 401, 406,
407, 408, 423, 424, 427, 436
Arun Jaitley · 44, 72, 121, 195, 333, 334, 337, 338, 369, 371, 426
Associated Journals Limited · 13, 135, 140, 141, 148, 166, 170, 174, 210, 211, 215, 219, 265, 289,
298, 306, 321, 325, 329, 354, 358, 361, 364, 374, 382, 386, 390, 414
B
Bandra · 50, 51, 52, 67, 68, 69, 176, 200, 248, 270, 361, 392, 406, 407, 408, 416, 428
Bharatiya Janata Party · 15, 25, 43, 57, 113, 178, 231, 336, 407
BJP · 15, 19, 28, 34, 36, 37, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 65, 71, 72, 84, 89, 93, 119,
128, 132, 144, 146, 148, 163, 166, 171, 175, 178, 182, 183, 186, 194, 202, 219, 221, 223, 229,
231, 233, 237, 238, 241, 247, 254, 260, 264, 267, 279, 286, 291, 293, 299, 308, 312, 321, 330,
333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 340, 342, 347, 350, 354, 361, 366, 368, 369, 371, 374, 377, 382, 385,
386, 388, 390, 395, 398, 399, 401, 407, 408, 410, 414, 418, 427
C
CBI · 19, 116, 123, 145, 150, 169, 170, 171, 174, 176, 178, 179, 180, 202, 203, 204, 207, 216, 225,
229, 231, 232, 233, 235, 240, 241, 242, 244, 270, 279, 337, 338, 361, 362, 390, 402, 407, 423,
424, 439
Central Bureau of Investigation · 19, 150, 169, 170, 174, 178, 202, 231, 241, 270, 279, 361, 390,
402, 407
Chidambaram · 121, 122, 123, 124, 232, 233, 240, 242, 243, 315, 317, 326, 329, 337, 338, 343, 345,
347, 348, 369, 370, 394, 428
Congress
President · 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44,
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 72, 73, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89,
90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 97, 98, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110, 115, 117, 118, 119, 125, 129,
132, 133, 134, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 149, 150, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168,
173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 186, 187, 189, 195, 197, 199, 200,
203, 204, 210, 211, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 228, 237, 238, 241,
244, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 254, 256, 257, 259, 260, 261, 264, 266, 268, 269, 270, 271,
277, 281, 282, 283, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 293, 294, 296, 297, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303,
304, 309, 311, 315, 316, 318, 319, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 337, 339,
340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358, 361,
362, 366, 368, 369, 370, 371, 377, 379, 380, 382, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 390, 397, 398, 399,
401, 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, 411, 412, 414, 416, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424,
425, 426, 427, 436
D
Delhi Development Authority
DDA · 72, 128, 146
Delhi High Court · 19, 20, 23, 28, 31, 34, 35, 55, 58, 65, 84, 88, 89, 92, 103, 108, 124, 133, 142,
150, 164, 168, 181, 182, 195, 196, 216, 217, 228, 241, 244, 251, 257, 263, 268, 269, 271, 288,
294, 296, 303, 307, 311, 313, 315, 328, 354, 362, 363, 364, 382, 386, 399, 416, 418, 420, 423, 426
Devendra Fadnavis · 50, 52, 69
Digvijay Singh · 73
E
ED · 19, 71, 72, 75, 77, 98, 99, 100, 103, 122, 123, 124, 125, 143, 144, 145, 150, 171, 173, 174,
175, 176, 179, 180, 202, 203, 204, 207, 214, 215, 216, 232, 241, 242, 243, 244, 270, 346, 360,
361, 389, 390, 391, 402, 406, 407, 408, 422, 423, 424, 427, 428
Enforcement Directorate · 19, 25, 45, 72, 98, 103, 122, 143, 150, 173, 179, 202, 215, 232, 241, 270,
346, 361, 371, 389, 402, 406, 416, 423
G
Government of India · 25, 402
H
Hooda · 144, 145, 169, 170, 173, 174, 175, 178, 179, 215, 216, 225, 233, 347, 348, 361, 362, 390,
407, 423, 439
I
Income Tax Department · 25, 62, 176, 183, 195, 247, 254, 261, 264, 315, 329, 330, 367, 397
J
Justice P S Teji · 23, 109
Justice Sunil Gaur · 19, 23, 28, 65, 355, 364, 382, 387
K
Kapil Sibal · 28, 29, 57, 94, 276, 277, 279, 300, 329, 343
Karnal Singh · 76, 98, 99, 100
L
Lovleen · 35, 101, 102, 140, 163, 166, 179, 219
Lucknow · 17, 64, 79, 80, 149, 153, 180, 185, 186, 190, 197, 200, 248, 249, 256, 261, 308, 390, 397,
401
M
Manmohan Singh · 57, 115, 116
Motilal Vora · 17, 19, 28, 52, 58, 64, 86, 103, 104, 107, 140, 143, 168, 170, 173, 176, 179, 183, 186,
194, 197, 199, 200, 203, 214, 215, 232, 248, 249, 250, 251, 257, 261, 269, 270, 301, 316, 327,
341, 350, 357, 362, 367, 390, 407, 408, 420, 423, 424
N
Narendra Modi · 46, 57, 83, 229, 232, 304, 335, 368, 369, 371, 374, 401, 403, 410
National Herald
scam · i, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 31, 34, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55,
56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 71, 75, 79, 83, 84, 89, 90, 92, 98, 101, 102, 107, 109, 110, 117,
118, 125, 128, 129, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 143, 144, 146, 147, 149, 150, 152, 153,
154, 161, 162, 163, 166, 169, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185,
187, 193, 194, 195, 196, 198, 199, 202, 203, 204, 209, 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219,
228, 229, 232, 233, 236, 238, 240, 241, 242, 247, 248, 250, 251, 254, 256, 257, 263, 264, 265,
267, 269, 270, 278, 279, 281, 282, 283, 286, 288, 289, 291, 293, 295, 297, 298, 299, 301, 302,
303, 306, 307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 315, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 325, 328, 329, 330, 334,
340, 341, 342, 344, 347, 348, 350, 353, 354, 355, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 364, 366, 369, 370,
371, 374, 375, 377, 378, 379, 380, 382, 386, 389, 390, 391, 392, 395, 397, 398, 401, 402, 404,
406, 407, 408, 412, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 438,
439
Nehru · 17, 48, 49, 50, 51, 64, 147, 148, 152, 153, 154, 161, 163, 164, 194, 198, 199, 200, 210, 270,
365, 385, 386, 387, 411, 421, 423
O
Oscar Fernandez · 17, 19, 140, 170, 203, 232, 257, 269, 315, 316, 327
P
Panchkula · 17, 19, 64, 143, 144, 145, 149, 170, 171, 174, 179, 180, 197, 200, 215, 233, 241, 248,
249, 256, 261, 270, 308, 360, 361, 362, 389, 390, 391, 397, 401, 402, 407, 408, 416, 423, 427
Patel · 152, 153, 154, 161, 163, 164, 198, 240, 243, 346, 347, 370, 423
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadera · 57, 58, 199, 249
R
Rahul Gandhi · 12, 14, 19, 23, 25, 28, 38, 41, 43, 44, 46, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 72, 75, 83,
84, 85, 86, 88, 90, 92, 96, 97, 98, 100, 103, 117, 128, 132, 140, 145, 148, 149, 163, 170, 171, 176,
179, 182, 187, 193, 195, 197, 198, 199, 203, 216, 221, 224, 228,232, 237, 241, 247, 249, 254, 257,
260, 261, 263, 265, 267, 269, 278, 281, 286, 291, 294, 298, 299, 301, 302, 303, 304, 307, 311,
315, 316, 323, 325, 328, 329, 330, 333, 335, 338, 340, 341, 342, 347, 348, 353, 354, 357, 358,
364, 369, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 382, 387, 390, 391, 397, 406, 408, 414, 415, 418, 420,
421, 422, 426, 427
Rajan Katoch · 73, 75, 125
Rajeshwar Singh · 122, 123, 124, 243
Registrar of Companies · 25, 133, 142, 163, 166, 175, 198
Robert Vadra · 47, 201, 232, 233, 240, 242, 347
S
Sam Pitroda · 17, 19, 29, 58, 64, 85, 140, 171, 176, 184, 194, 199, 200, 251, 257, 261, 269, 299,
327, 390, 420
Serious Frauds Investigation Office · 77
Shaktikanta Das · 121, 123, 124, 125, 422
Smriti Irani · 41, 277, 278, 280
Sonia Gandhi · 12, 19, 23, 25, 28, 43, 45, 46, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 63, 65, 72, 75, 84, 85,
86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 103, 115, 118, 128, 132, 145, 148, 163, 170, 171, 176, 179, 182, 186, 187, 193,
195, 197, 199, 203, 204, 216, 221, 224, 228, 229, 232, 233, 237, 241, 242, 249, 251, 253, 257,
260, 263, 269, 270, 278, 281, 286, 291, 294, 295, 298, 299, 301, 303, 304, 307, 311, 314, 315,
316, 317, 321, 325, 326, 328, 329, 334, 336, 340, 341, 343, 347, 348, 353, 354, 357, 358, 364,
369, 374, 375, 376, 377, 379, 382, 387, 390, 391, 397, 400, 401, 402, 403, 406, 408, 411, 412,
414, 415, 418, 426, 427
Subramanian Swamy · 15, 16, 17, 18, 28, 32, 44, 55, 56, 57, 63, 65, 71, 81, 84, 89, 93, 96, 98, 102,
107, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 128, 133, 140, 144, 146, 148, 149, 163, 166, 171, 175, 178,
182, 183, 194, 199, 202, 204, 209, 219, 223, 229, 231, 233, 237, 241, 247, 251, 254, 260, 264,
267, 282, 283, 286, 291, 293, 297, 301, 304, 308, 309, 312, 317, 318, 319, 321, 322, 325, 330,
331, 336, 340, 342, 344, 346, 347, 348, 350, 354, 355, 356, 357, 361, 362, 366, 368, 369, 371,
374, 376, 377, 380, 382, 384, 388, 390, 398, 399, 401, 407, 408, 409, 410, 412, 414, 416, 418,
422, 425, 426, 427, 428
Suman Dubey · 17, 19, 29, 58, 64, 85, 140, 171, 176, 184, 194, 199, 251, 257, 261, 269, 299, 327,
390, 420
Supreme Court · 19, 20, 31, 32, 84, 88, 92, 97, 116, 117, 118, 122, 123, 124, 129, 150, 171, 229,
232, 241, 244, 251, 257, 282, 286, 287, 291, 292, 294, 295, 298, 303, 304, 326, 350, 369, 370,
371, 379, 381, 384, 386, 388, 391, 392, 394, 395, 397, 399, 402, 408, 414, 416, 418, 420, 422
T
The Pioneer · 12, 106, 378, 414
trial court · 18, 19, 28, 29, 30, 53, 55, 56, 58, 63, 65, 71, 85, 86, 89, 90, 93, 95, 109, 110, 125, 129,
133, 142, 148, 150, 164, 168, 171, 182, 183, 184, 204, 228, 241, 244, 251, 260, 264, 267, 281,
294, 308, 318, 325, 326, 331, 340, 362, 371, 379, 407, 408, 414, 416, 420
U
United Progressive Alliance
UPA · 16, 228
V
Venkaiah Naidu · 38, 128, 130, 131, 146, 150
Y
YI · 12, 15, 109, 183, 260, 261, 263, 268, 275, 299, 307, 310, 312, 313, 314, 317, 442
Young Indian · 12, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25, 28, 34, 55, 58, 61, 63, 64, 65, 77, 86, 90, 107, 109, 117, 128,
134, 140, 141, 148, 167, 171, 176, 182, 183, 187, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 203, 210,
211, 217, 224, 232, 237, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260,
261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 282, 283, 288, 289, 291, 295, 296, 298, 299,
303, 307, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 322, 323, 325, 326, 329, 330, 331, 340, 341,
354, 358, 364, 367, 374, 380, 382, 383, 387, 388, 390, 391, 397, 398, 401, 404, 407, 420, 421,
424, 425, 426, 427
Appendix
Appendix 1 – Delhi HC judgment
The judgment has been formatted tor readability, to fit into the dimensions of the book.
The 27-page judgment of Sunil Gaur, is available for download from the
web. The salient point in the judgment is repoduced below, with bold
emphasis on the key sentence:
39.
After having considered the entire case in its proper perspective, this Court finds
no hesitation to put it on record that the modus operandi adopted by petitioners in
taking control of AJL via Special Purpose Vehicle i.e. YI, particularly, when the main
persons in Congress Party, AJL and YI are the same, evidences a criminal intent .
Whether it is cheating, criminal misappropriation or criminal breach of trust is not
required to be spelt out at this nascent stage. In any case, by no stretch of imagination, it
can be said that no case for summoning petitioners as accused in the complaint in question
is made out. Questionable conduct of petitioners needs to be properly examined at the
charge stage to find out the truth and so, these criminal proceedings cannot be thwarted at
this initial stage. Such a view is being formed on a bird’s eye view of the whole case and
the observations in the impugned order of there being a prima facie case have to be read in
the context of there being sufficient grounds for summoning petitioners.
Here
is
the
link
to
the
complete
judgment
https://pgurus.com/eBooks/NHFrauds/A1-292510156-Delhi-HighCourt-judgment-on-NH-pdf.pdf
-
Appendix 2: National Herald vs BMC
Link: https://pgurus.com/eBooks/NHFrauds/A2-293461926-NationalHerald.pdf
Appendix 3: CBI FIR in National Herald Hooda
Link: https://pgurus.com/eBooks/NHFrauds/A3CBI%20FIR%20in%20National%20Herald%20-%20%20Hooda.pdf
Appendix 4: IT Assessment Order
Link:
https://pgurus.com/eBooks/NHFrauds/A4-369717411-IncomeTax-Assessment-Order-Young-Indian-Dtd-Dec-27-2017.pdf
Appendix 5: NH order of Judge Samar
Vi s h a l
Link:
order.pdf
https://pgurus.com/eBooks/NHFrauds/A5-380221778-NH-
A p p e n d i x 6 : I TAT r u l i n g o n Y I
Link:
https://pgurus.com/eBooks/NHFrauds/A6-4351850231573819906-7751-D-17-Young-Indian.pdf
[1]
Rahul Gandhi wants the judge to be transferred – Oct 14, 2015 , Zee News
[2]
Surjewala’s denial – Oct 22, 2015 , ABP Live
Take back Bandra plot from AJL, BJP tells BMC – Oct 12, 2015
, Mumbai Mirror
[3]
CM orders probe into AJL’s Bandra plot allotment – Oct 16,
2015 , Mumbai Mirror
[4]
[5]
Key facts about National Herald case – Dec 19, 2015 , HT
[6]
Uncovered: Adarsh-like scam in Bandra – Apr 04, 2012 , DNA
[7]
Rajan Katoch discharged from additional role as ED Director for
scuttling National Herald case? – Aug 20, 2015 , The News Minute
[8]
National Herald Case – PGurus.com
[9]
Sunanda Pushkar – PGurus.com
[10]
RaGa SaGa - PGurus.com
[11]
Congress damage control: Party publishes FAQs on National
Herald case – Feb 07, 2016 , First Post
Why did RaGa start a company in UK – Nov 16, 2015 ,
PGurus.com
[12]
[13]
#RaGaSaga – PGurus.com
Advani becomes chairman of Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee –
Sep 17, 2014 , The Hindu
[14]
SC rejects plea for probe into Rahul’s citizenship – Nov 30, 2015
, The Hindu
[15]
India finalizing plans to order three more Scorpene submarines –
Dec 04, 2015 , Times of India
[16]
[17]
Enforcement Directorate to probe money laundering angle in
National Herald case – Aug 02, 2014 , DNA
[18]
Congress's new nightmare – Mar 18, 2016 , The Pioneer
Dr. Subramanian Swamy Real Story: National Herald case – Dec
09, 2015 , YouTube
[19]
[20]
National Herald case: Delhi HC reserves order on Congress
leaders' plea – Apr 18, 2016 , DNA
NHCase: Peon gets his “15 minutes fame” – Mar 22, 2016 ,
PGurus.com
[21]
Permanent absorption of Rajeshwar Singh as ED Dy Dir: SC –
Sep 8, 2014 , RSTV
[22]
[23]
Supreme Court Appoints Venugopal as Amicus Curiae for 2G
Matters – Sep 09, 2015 , NDTV
[24]
SC orders permanent absorption of Rajeshwar Singh as ED
Deputy Director – Dec 24, 2013 , Indianexpress
CAT slaps contempt notice on Centre – Feb 25, 2014 , Business
Standard
[25]
[26]
An unfair attack on a disciplined civil servant Arun-Jaitley backs
Shaktikanta Das – Jun 23, 2016 , Narada News
[27]
NH case: Swamy urges Urban Development Ministry to take
over Herald House – Aug 12, 2016 , PGurus.com
[28]
Full list of share holders in Associated Journals Limited as of
2011 – Dec 12, 2015 , PGurus.com
[29]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in National
herald case. – Sep 18, 2016 , PGurus.com
[30]
NH case: Swamy urges Urban Development Ministry to take
over Herald House – Aug 12, 2016 , PGurus.com
[31]
Blast from the Past: Patel - Nehru letters exposes the frauds in
fund collection for NH – Dec 09, 2016 , PGurus.com
[32]
AJL Director information – Zauba Corp
CBI files FIR against Hooda and AJL in National Herald case –
Sends shivers to Sonia and Rahul – Apr 06, 2017 , PGurus.com
[33]
National Herald: 20-page probe report lists violations by AJL –
Feb 10, 2016 , First Post
[34]
[35]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in National
herald case – Sep 18, 2016, PGurus.com
[36]
National Herald – PGurus.com
Congress: Party without differences – Jun 09, 2014 , Bharat
Kalyan 97
[37]
[38]
Locked Kesri in bathroom, and talking of 'rajdharma'!: BJP to
Cong – Apr 12, 2014 , Web India 123
The mystery of the missing 296 AJL shareholders – Dec 13,
2015 , Business Standard
[39]
[40]
National Herald case can end if Congress returns loan, Arun
Jaitley says – Aug 05, 2014 , Times of India
[41] National Herald case: Delhi High Court rejects Sonia & Rahul
petition to quash Income Tax action – May 12, 2017 , PGurus.com
[42]
Instead of a Nehru Memorial Library, Congress Bhavan building
construction coming on AJLl Mumbai Plot – Dec 17, 2015 ,
PGurus.com
[43]
Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami ... vs Life Insurance Corporation on 11
December, 1962 – Indian Kanoon
[44]
Muthukrishna Naicken vs Ramachandra Naicken And Ors. on 25
April, 1918 – Indian Kanoon
CBI files FIR against Hooda and AJL in National Herald case –
Sends shivers to Sonia and Rahul – Apr 06, 2017 , PGurus.com
[45]
[46]
National Herald case: Delhi High Court rejects Sonia & Rahul
petition to quash Income Tax action – May 12, 2017 , PGurus.com
[47]
Delhi High Court sacks son of sitting Meghalaya High Court
judge from Delhi judiciary – Aug 20, 2017 , Bar and Bench
Judge recuses himself from National Herald case – Jan 12, 2015
, The Hindu
[48]
[49]
Why is CBI not appealing in the corruption case against Sonia
Gandhi’s aide Vincent George – May 05, 2017 , PGurus.com
[50]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in National herald
case. – Sep 18, 2016 , PGurus.com
[51]
Qs that the 2G scam verdict did not answer - Dec 24, 2017 ,
CNN-News18
[52]
Chidambara Rahasya - Mar 15, 2017 , PGurus.com
CBI files FIR against Sonia’s Right Hand Man - Oct 27, 2017 ,
PGurus.com
[53]
[54]
ED summons Vora in Panchkula land deals - Nov 8, 2016 ,
PGurus.com
[55]
The curious case of Vadra companies - Jul 3, 2016 , PGurus.com
[56]
Swamy accuses CBDT of going slow against the Chidambaram
family - Aug 6, 2017 , PGurus.com
[57]
Now ten cases against the Chidambaram Family - Dec 11, 2017 ,
PGurus.com
[58]
Income Tax exposes the lies of Prannoy Roy... - Nov 21, 2017 ,
PGurus.com
[59]
Top Congress leader a secret investor in NDTV? Nov 6, 2017 ,
PGurus.com
[60]
2G Court ignored indictment by SC - Dec 23, 2017 , Pioneer
[61]
NHCase: Peon gets his 15-minutes of fame - Mar 22, 2016 ,
PGurus.com
[62]
Janhit Nidhi Limited - Site2Corp.com
[63]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in the
National Herald case - Sep 18, 2016 , PGurus.com
[64]
Sonia, Rahul hit out at Modi, get bail - Dec 19, 2015 , The Hindu
[65]
Income Tax fixes Sonia-Rahul firm YI for Rs.414 cr gains from
NH Frauds - Jan 20, 2018 , PGurus.com
[66]
NH Case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment Order against
YI - Jan 22, 2018 , PGurus.com
[67]
IT fixes Sonia-Rahul firm Young Indian for Rs.414 crore gains
from National Herald frauds - Jan 20, 2018 , PGurus.com
[68]
The silence of Congress on the Income Tax Assessment Order in
National Herald case is deafening - Jan 24, 2018 , PGurus.com
[69]
National Herald case: Read 105-page IT Assessment Order
against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain - Jan 22, 2018 ,
PGurus.com
[70]
National Herald case: Read 105-page IT AO against Young
Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain - Jan 22, 2018 , PGurus.com
[71]
National Herald case: Delhi HC orders Young Indian to deposit
Rs.10 cr in IT recovery notice of Rs.250 cr - Mar 19, 2018 ,
PGurus.com
[72]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in National
Herald case - Sep 10, 2016 , PGurus.com
[73]
Instead of a Nehru Memorial Library, Congress Bhavan building
construction coming on AJL Mumbai plot - Dec 17, 2015 ,
PGurus.com
[74]
National Herald - ED summons Motilal Vora in Panchkula land
deals - Nov 8, 2016 , PGurus.com
[75]
Kapil Sibal acquired land in Delhi worth crores by paying just 1
lakh rupees? - Mar 28, 2018 , OpIndi a .com
[76]
AICC briefing by Kapil Sibal in Congress HQ - Mar 30, 2018 ,
YouTube.com
[77]
National Herald case: Why is Congress quiet on the IT fine of
Rs.249.15 cr on Sonia-Rahul company? - Mar 28, 2018 ,
PGurus.com
[78]
National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment
Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain - Jan 22,
2018 , PGurus.com
[79]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in National
Herald case - Sep 18, 2016 , PGurus.com
[80]
National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment
Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain - Jan 22,
2018 , PGurus.com
[81]
National Herald case: Why is Congress quiet on the IT fine of
Rs.249.15 cr on Sonia-Rahul company? - Mar 28, 2018 ,
PGurus.com
[82]
Sonia and Rahul object to summoning of documents in National
Herald case - Sep 18, 2016 , PGurus.com
[83]
National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment
Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain – Jan 22,
2018 , PGurus.com
[84]
National Herald case: Delhi HC orders Young Indian to deposit
Rs.10 cr in Income Tax Recovery Notice of Rs.250 crores – Mar
19, 2018 , PGurus.com
National Herald case – Subramanian Swamy starts submitting
evidence – Jul 21, 2018 , PGurus.com
[85]
[86]
Congress leaders file petition to restrain Subramanian Swamy
from tweeting on National Herald – Jul 21, 2018 , PGurus.com
[87]
NH case: Delhi HC orders Young Indian to deposit Rs.10 cr. In
Income Tax recovery notice of Rs.250 crores – Mar 19. 2018 ,
PGurus.com
[88]
IT catches Rahul for hushing up Young Indian Directorship &
Rs.154 crores income. Rahul approaches Delhi HC to quash the
order – Aug 8, 2018 , PGurus.com
National Herald case – Subramanian Swamy starts submitting
evidence – Jul 21, 2018 , PGurus.com
[89]
[90]
Congress leaders file petition to restrain Subramanian Swamy
from tweeting on National Herald – Jul 21, 2018 , PGurus.com
[91]
National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment
Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain – Jan 22,
2018 , PGurus.com
National Herald ‘prima facie a strong case, income tax inquiry
on’ – Arun Jaitley to NDTV - Aug 5, 2014 , NDTV.com
[92]
[93]
Shri Subramanian Swamy’s speech during discussion on
AgustaWestland deal – Apr 5, 2016 , Bharatiya Janata Party
Channel on YouTube
[94]
Arun Jaitley must speak on the tainted firm Gitanjali Gems of
the PNB Scam engaging daughter’s legal firm – Mar 18, 2018 ,
PGurus.com
Un-answered questions – P6 of #ForexDerivativeScam – Jul 16,
2016 , PGurus.com
[95]
D K Shivakumar’s Hawala agents turn Approvers. Reveal
money trail. PC & AP on the radar – Jul 22, 2018 , PGurus.com
[96]
[97]
National Herald scam gets murkier. Urban Development
Ministry’s Show Cause Notice exposes more frauds – Aug 24, 2018
, PGurus.com
[98]
Swamy demands authentication of his tweets from Congress
lawyers. Crossing of Swamy in National Herald case to begin on
Nov 17 – Oct 20, 2018 , PGurus.com
[99]
CBDT withdraws Circular on applicability of section 56(2)(viia)
for shares issued by company in which public not substantially
interested – Jan 4, 2019 , ABCAUS.In
[100]
Congress Press Conference – Jan 5, 2019 , YouTube
[101]
Subramanian Swamy appears for Cross Examination in
National Herald Case – Feb 4, 2019 , BarAndBench.com
[102]
Delhi HC slams Sonia & Rahul of a clandestine operation to
float Young Indian company. Orders immediate eviction of Herald
House – Feb 28, 2019 , PGurus.com
[103]
National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment
Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain – Jan 22,
2018 , PGurus.com
[104]
Plot for National Herald: Report points to violation of lease
terms – Feb 10, 2016 , Hindustan Times
[105]
National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment
Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain – Jan 22,
2018 , PGurus.com
[106]
Plot for National Herald: Report points to violation of lease
terms – Feb 10, 2016 , Hindustan Times