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Swamy and non-friends- Accused & accuser do not see eye to eye, literally

Published On : 20 Dec 2015


New Delhi, (The Telegraph): Plaintiff and accused did not exchange a single glance during the 20 minutes they spent in the small courtroom.

Even when Subramanian Swamy opposed their bail pleas, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi looked steadfastly on at metropolitan magistrate Lovleen, refusing to let their gaze drift towards their tormentor.

Swamy, who was accompanied by his wife Roxna - a lawyer herself - and a couple of junior counsel, chose to argue his own case, engaging Congress politicians and lawyers Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi in a battle of wits.

Earlier, Sonia and Rahul had entered the courtroom around 2.50pm, to be greeted by Manmohan Singh. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who too was inside, walked up to them and whispered something in her mother's ear.

Holding Sonia's hand tightly, Priyanka appeared to say something to Rahul as party seniors looked on.

Sonia and Rahul then went up to the dock to the left of the magistrate's chair and stood beside it. Priyanka walked off to a corner on the judge's left and leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on her mother and brother.

Oscar Fernandes, Motilal Vora and Suman Dubey stood behind mother and son. Counsel for the remaining accused, Sam Pitroda, sought an exemption for him saying his client was abroad and ill and would be present at the next hearing.

Swamy, who stood to the right of the judge, appeared busy in conversation with his wife and the two junior lawyers. Not once did he look towards the accused.

The magistrate walked in at 3pm amid pin-drop silence. He called out the names of the accused - first Sonia and then Rahul - to verify their presence. They both looked at the judge and raised their hands. The other three followed suit.

Sonia and Rahul looked tense and kept their eyes fixed on the magistrate. In the seats, Manmohan looked nervous.

Sibal, appearing for Sonia, and Singhvi, representing Rahul, moved their bail applications. Swamy opposed them, saying the Gandhis were influential people and might flee the country. He requested that their passports be impounded.

Sibal told the court the applicants had "deep roots in society" and wouldn't leave the country without the court's permission. After a while the magistrate dictated his order, saying bail was being granted against bonds and sureties of Rs 50,000 each.

A.K. Antony furnished the bond for Sonia while Priyanka did so for Rahul. As the magistrate left for his chamber, smiles broke out among the Congress politicians present.

The two Special Protection Group (SPG) officers present in the courtroom rushed out to call the drivers. "Get ready; ma'am is coming out," one of them barked over his walkie-talkie before asking the police to make way for the VIPs.

Lawyers at the Patiala House court described Lovleen, who does not use a surname, as an "efficient, tough and no-nonsense" judge.

A native of Karnal in Haryana, Lovleen had been a magistrate in his home state before moving to Delhi's Saket court and then to the Patiala House court in October this year.

"He is a gentleman and very hardworking. He doesn't talk much in court," a lawyer said. "Even today he seemed oblivious of the profile of the accused and was very focused."

Fortress

Some 5,000 police and paramilitary personnel, including Rapid Action Force and BSF jawans, were deployed in and around the court premises from 9am, six hours before the proceedings were to start. Intelligence Bureau officials milled about in the throng.

"Last evening, 16 new CCTV cameras were installed to back up the existing 36," a police officer said.

The SPG set up a control room on the premises and watched all the entry and exit points since morning through the 52 CCTV cameras.

A huge number of onlookers, who joined the crowd of lawyers, litigants and journalists in the compound, jostled with armed policemen, who tried to shoo them away.

About a dozen journalists, armed with passes from court staff, watched the first half of the proceedings from the corridor outside the courtroom. But when a handful of them stepped into the courtroom at a signal from the court staff, the SPG men ordered them out and shut the door.

The reporters had to rely on court officials for the second half of the proceedings.

Photo credit: The Telegraph







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