The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Centre’s eviction proceedings against the publisher of the National Herald newspaper, whose stakeholders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had accused the NDA government of trying to close down the paper because of “pathological hatred for Nehruvian ideals”.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response to publisher Associated Journals Ltd’s appeal challenging a Delhi High Court order upholding the eviction proceedings.

“Issue notice, returnable within four weeks. There shall be a stay of the further proceedings pursuant to the high court’s order,” the Supreme Court said.

The court passed the direction on the AJL’s appeal challenging the government order to vacate its premises at ITO Road, New Delhi.

The AJL had alleged that the directive was part of a political witch-hunt because of the NDA government’s “pathological hatred for Nehruvian ideals” and to “scuttle” the Congress’s voice of dissent.

Delhi High Court had on February 28 dismissed AJL’s plea and directed it to vacate the premises.

The NDA government has accused Sonia, Rahul and Oscar Fernandez of misappropriating AJL assets while transferring shares to the then newly formed Young Indian incorporated in November 2010.