Delhi HC orders National Herald newspaper to vacate office in 2 weeks; major jolt to Gandhi family

The court has given two weeks time to Congress-linked Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which runs the newspaper, to vacate the premises.

New Delhi: In what comes as a major set back for Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia, the Delhi High Court on Friday asked the National Herald newspaper to vacate its office situated at ITO, New Delhi.

The court has given two weeks time to Congress-linked Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which runs the newspaper, to vacate the premises. The court passed the order on AJL's plea challenging the Centre's October 30 order ending its 56-year-old lease.

The court rejected AJL's plea against Centre's October 30 order asking it to vacate the office situated on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Justice Sunil Gaur said AJL will have to vacate the premises at ITO within two weeks after which proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 would be initiated.

In the order, the Centre and Land and Development Office (L&DO) has said that no press has been functioning in the premises for at least past 10 years and it was being used only for commercial purposes in violation of the lease deed.