Vacate Delhi office in 2 weeks': HC to National Herald publisher AJL

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher of Congress mouthpiece National Herald, challenging the eviction order by land and development authority.

Justice Sunil Gaur has granted two-weeks time to AJL to vacate Herald House situated at ITO in the national capital. Following this, proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 would be initiated.

The Centre in its eviction order had mentioned a violation of lease conditions by the publisher of National Herald newspaper.

The court passed the order on AJL's plea challenging the Centre's October 30 order ending its 56-year-old lease.

In the order, the Centre and Land and Development Office (L&DO) has said that no press has been functioning in the premises for at least past 10 years and it was being used only for commercial purposes in violation of the lease deed.

AJL had denied the allegations in the petition filed in the high court.

The court had reserved its decision on AJL's plea on November 22.

The Centre said that all the procedures have been followed to the hilt before issuing the notice.

AJL had opposed the Centre's stand, saying that publication of web editions began in 2016 and the issue of absence of printing press in the premises was not raised then. It had said the government kept silent till April 2018 when it again sent a notice for inspection and in which it had said that it was coming to check breaches mentioned in notice of October 10, 2016.

AJL had also argued that several major papers carry out printing elsewhere.

The court had earlier asked the government to maintain status quo with regard to enforcement of the October 30 order. During the arguments, the Centre had contended that transfer of 98 per cent stake in AJL to Young Indian (YI) when the latter bought the former's Rs 90 crore debt for a consideration of Rs 50 lakh, led to a "virtual" sale of the Herald building.

In its petition, the AJL has alleged that the proceedings were being initiated for the purposes of "scuttling the voices of dissent" and the voice of the largest opposition party in the country, a reference to the Congress.

Without naming the BJP, the AJL alleged that the order was issued under pressure and directives from the ruling party at the Centre is vitiated by mala fide, bias and had "oblique political motives".

The L&DO had ended the lease -- entered into with AJL on August 2, 1962, and made perpetual on January 10, 1967 -- asking the company to hand over the possession by November 15.

The L&DO's order had also said that failure to hand over possession would lead to the initiation of proceedings under the Public Premises Act.

In its plea, AJL has also said that the digital versions of English newspaper National Herald, Hindi's Navjivan and Urdu's Qaumi Awaz have commenced since 2016-17.

The weekly newspaper 'National Herald on Sunday' resumed on September 24 last year and the place of publication was the ITO premises, AJL had said, adding that the Hindi weekly newspaper Sunday Navjivan was also being published since October this year from the same premises.