National Herald Publisher Must Vacate Delhi Office In 2 Weeks, Says Court

Centre says HC order vindicates it

There is no impediment before the government in seeking the eviction of the publishers of National Herald if they do not voluntarily vacate Herald House here and hand over its possession by January 3, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said in a statement after the Delhi High Court “vindicated” the government’s stance in its Friday judgment.

National Herald is owned by a company whose majority stakeholders include Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi.

Herald House, a five-storey building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, stands on land originally allotted to Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) at a concessional rate in 1962-63.ALSO READDelhi High Court orders National Herald publishers to vacate Herald House

On April 9, 2018, the Ministry’s inspection team did not find any printing press or newsprint stock on any of its floor.

More violations

Other violations include changes in share ownership and unauthorised rentals of the premises, the statement said, explaining the rationale for the Ministry’s October 30 order for the government’s re-entry into the premises.

By dismissing the AJL petition against the Ministry order, the High Court justified the government’s re-entry and ordered that there be no impediment to eviction, the statement said.