NEW DELHI: A trial court in Delhi on Tuesday asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi , vice-president Rahul Gandhi and five other accused to appear before it on December 19 in the National Herald cheating and misappropriation case.

Accusing the BJP-led government of political vendetta, Sonia told reporters outside Parliament, "Why should I be scared of anyone? I am Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law, I am not scared of anyone."

"I leave it on you to judge," she said before chairing a meeting of Congress MPs in Parliament, which was adjourned following uproar.

Sonia and Rahul, along with the other five accused, face allegations that the Congress had illegally acquired property belonging to the National Herald newspaper, established by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938. In 2008, Sonia decided to close the defunct paper.

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On Monday, in a major setback for the Gandhis, the Delhi high court refused to cancel their court summons, saying the allegations made by the complainant, BJP leader Subramanian Swamty, "smacked of criminality".

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The HC order was peppered with scathing comments on the Gandhis and the other five accused in the case, with Justice Sunil Gaur taking a prima facie view that there was "criminal intent" in the manner in which the assets of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) -- which used to publish the now defunct National Herald daily - were taken control of.

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National Herald case

Apart from the Gandhis, other accused who were denied exemption from personal appearance included Suman Dubey, Moti Lal Vohra, Oscar Fernandes and Sam Pitroda. Besides these individuals, the Young India Limited (YIL) is also an accused in the case

The issue under scrutiny, described as "questionable" by the HC, was the manner in which the shares of AJL were acquired by YIL. Swamy alleged that the Congress first loaned Rs 90.25 crore to AJL, publisher of National Herald. Soon, it assigned this debt to YIL, a charitable company, for Rs 50 lakh, and grabbed control of AJL, with real estate assets estimated at Rs 2,000 crore.

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Referring to Swamy's plea, the court said, "The transactions of the Congress Party with AJL via YI are not mere commercial transactions as these transactions legitimately attract the allegations of cheating, fraud, breach of trust, misappropriation, etc."

"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 Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) via special purpose vehicle i.e. Young India Ltd (YIL), particularly, when the main persons in Congress Party, AJL and YIL are the same, evidences a criminal intent," the HC bench noted.