AJL has to vacate Herald House: HC

New Delhi, February 28

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The Delhi High Court today dismissed National Herald publisher Associated Journals Limited’s (AJL) 

plea challenging a single judge order to vacate its premises at ITO here.

A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao rejected the AJL’s appeal in which it had challenged the Centre’s decision asking it to vacate the ITO premises. “We have dismissed the appeal,” the Bench said.

It also rejected the oral request of AJL’s counsel that they be granted two week to vacate the premises.

The AJL had appealed against the single judge’s December 21, 2018, order that directed it to vacate the premises at ITO in two weeks, after which eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated.

The single judge had also said that by the transfer of AJL’s 99 per cent shares to Young India (YI), the beneficial interest of AJL’s property worth Rs 413.40 crore stood “clandestinely” transferred to YI. The single judge had said that the AJL had been “hijacked” by YI, in which the Gandhis were shareholders.

The December order had come on the AJL’s plea challenging the Centre’s order to vacate the building. The Centre had ended its 56-year-old lease and asked the AJL to vacate the premises, saying no printing or publishing activity was going on and the building was being used only for commercial purposes.

During the arguments earlier, the AJL, represented by senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, said the transfer of the company’s majority shares to YI would not make Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi owners of the Herald building. — PTI

Appeal against order dismissed

• The AJL had appealed against the single judge’s December 21, 2018, order that directed it to vacate the premises in two weeks
• The judge had said the AJL had been “hijacked” by YI, in which the Gandhis were shareholders
• The Delhi HC on Thursday said, “We have dismissed the appeal (by National Herald publisher Associated Journals Ltd)”