Delhi High Court directs AJL to vacate Herald House

Kangana Ranaut at a press conference to promote her upcoming film "Panga"

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the National Herald Newspaper’s Associated Journal Ltd (AJL) to vacate the Herald House in Central Delhi.

The court gave the orders in the National Herald case, after hearing the appeal of AJL in which the order of the Single Bench of Delhi High Court was challenged.

In this matter, the BJP Leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a case against the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi along with others — Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vora and Sam Pitroda allegedly to have involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of AJL by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL) as assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended.

AJL publisher of the National Herald Newspaper had filed a plea before Delhi High Court and challenged the October 30 order of the Urban Development Ministry which asked to vacate the premises in the Press Enclave at ITO by November 15 on grounds of violation of lease clauses.

The Counsel who was representing the Land and Development Office submitted before the court that it’s a malicious prosecution and impugned order vitiated by malafides and ulterior political motives.

Delhi High Court, after hearing arguments in National Herald Case on November, 22, had reserved its order in the land lease matter of AJL publisher of the National Herald Newspaper.

After that Delhi High Court Justice Sunil Gaur passed an order on December 21 by directing the publisher of the Congress linked National Herald Newspaper to vacate the Headquarters in Central Delhi, ITO Area within two weeks.

Delhi High Court Bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao on Thursday passed an order to dismissed the appeal of AJL in which the order of the Single Bench of Delhi High Court was challenged and directed it to vacate the Herald House in Central Delhi.