The Delhi High Court yesterday ordered the torchbearers of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty to appear in court over alleged misuse of party funds, in a new blow for the family that lost power to BJP-led NDA alliance last year.
Sonia Gandhi, president of the opposition Congress party, and her son, Rahul, face accusations they used $13.5m of party funds to pay debts accrued by a newspaper business.
Plaintiffs say the transaction benefited a not-for-profit company they own.
The Gandhis deny any wrongdoing.
A spokesman for their Congress party, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is also a lawyer representing the Gandhis, said they would challenge the order legally, a move that will likely take the case to the Supreme Court.
The case against the family was brought by Subramanian Swamy, an activist lawyer who is a vocal member of Modi’s ruling party.
The mother-son duo will need to appear in a district court in the capital on Tuesday, Swamy told reporters. A lower court first summoned the Gandhis in June last year. Yesterday, the Delhi High Court rejected their plea to exempt them from a personal appearance, another of their lawyers said.
Sonia Gandhi last year accused the Modi-led government of a “political witch hunt” after tax authorities started investigating her party in relation with the same case.
