The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to stay the income tax proceedings against Young Indian Ltd in the case of alleged misappropriation of assets of National Herald newspaper involving Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The High Court asked the company to withdraw the petition and approach the income tax assessing officer, after which the firm withdrew its petition.

“We are not inclined to entertain your writ petition. It is better you withdraw it and approach the income tax assessing officer,” said a Bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and Chander Shekhar. The same was then dismissed as withdrawn.

Young Indian had come to the High Court seeking a direction to stay the I-T proceedings and quashing of notices against it with regard to the National Herald case in which it was issued notices for assessment year 2011-12. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the main stakeholders in Young Indian. Besides the Gandhis, the other directors are Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, party general secretary Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda. A lower court had in 2014 summoned them as accused on the basis of a complaint made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy.

‘Special purpose vehicle’

Dr. Swamy had alleged that they had fraudulently acquired Associated Journal Ltd. (AJL), that used to publish the now defunct National Herald newspaper and transferred its assets worth crores of rupees to Young Indian. He alleged that the Gandhis had set up Young Indian as a special purpose vehicle for acquiring control over ?2,000 crore worth of assets of the AJL. He had said Young Indian used Congress funds to buy the debt of AJL even when it had real estate assets worth at least ?2,000 crore.

Govt. giving distorted information: Congress

Congress’s counsel in the case and party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi slammed the Modi government, expressing his astonishment at the extent of “misinformation and distortion which has been going on since today forenoon in regard to the court proceedings of Young Indian”. Read more