It took three minutes for the Patiala House District Court to grant Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi bail in the National Herald case on Saturday. The court granted them unconditional bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each and will hear the case again on February 20.

The Gandhis are among six people accused of trying to illegally acquire real estate worth thousands of crores which belonged to National Herald, a now-defunct newspaper founded by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The case was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party member Subramanian Swamy.

After the hearing, the Congress leaders came out heavily against the Narendra Modi-led Centre. Rahul Gandhi, who had earlier accused the prime minister of having a “political vendetta” against the Congress, said he would “never bow down” to false allegations made by Modi. Sonia Gandhi said she had confidence in the country's judiciary and had no doubt that the truth will prevail. She alleged that the Centre is targeting Opposition leaders via central agencies.