Associated Journals Ltd, the publisher of Congress mouthpiece National Herald, was on Friday directed by Delhi High Court to vacate its premises in the national capital within two weeks.
The court dismissed AJL’s plea challenging the Centre’s order to vacate the premises.
The Centre and the land and development office had said in their order that no press has been functioning on the premises for at least 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.
Justice Sunil Gaur rejected the contentions of AJL challenging the Centre’s October 30 order ending its 56-year-old lease. The court said AJL would have to vacate the premises at the ITO here within two weeks after which proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated.
The court had reserved its decision on AJL’s plea on November 22. The Centre had said all procedures had been followed before issuing the notice.
AJL had opposed the Centre’s stand, saying publication of web editions began in 2016 and the issue of the absence of a printing press on 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 it would check breaches mentioned in the notice of October 10, 2016.
AJL had also argued that several major papers carried out printing elsewhere.
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, AJL had alleged that the proceedings were being initiated for the purpose 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, AJL had alleged that the order was issued under pressure and directives from the ruling party at the Centre were vitiated by mala fide and bias and had “oblique political motives”.
The land and development office had ended the lease — issued to AJL on August 2, 1962, and made perpetual on January 10, 1967 — and asked the company to hand over the possession by November 15 this year.
The land office’s order had also said failure to hand over possession would lead to initiation of proceedings under the Public Premises Act.
In its plea, AJL had also said that the digital versions of English newspaper National Herald, the Hindi Navjivan and the Urdu Qaumi Awaz had started in 2016.
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.