National Herald told to vacate premises in 2 weeks

Associated Journals alleged that the proceedings were being initiated for the purposes of 'scuttling the voices of dissent'.

The Delhi high court on Friday ordered the publisher of Congress mouthpiece National Herald to vacate within two weeks its premises in New Delhi, holding there was no mala fide in the Centre's eviction order.

Dismissing the allegations of mala fide against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre as ‘preposterous’, the court said the publisher Associated Journals Limited(AJL) was ‘hijacked’ by Young Indian(YI) company in which party chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are majority shareholders.

The court gave the direction while dismissing the AJL's plea challenging the Centre's order to vacate the Herald House in the ITO area in the heart of the capital.

In hard hitting observations in its 17-page verdict, the court held that the AJL has not provided any instances to support the serious allegations of mala fide levelled against the ruling dispensation, a reference to the BJP government at the Centre.

It said the AJL will have to vacate its premises within two weeks failing which proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated for its eviction.

The AJL had alleged that the eviction order is vitiated by mala fide, bias and has been issued with oblique motives, which is a clear affront to Article 19 of the Constitution and that the ruling dispensation has adopted covert and overt measures to erase, efface and defame the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru.

"One fails to understand as to how the ruling dispensation has in any way erased, effaced or defamed Pandit (Jawaharlal) Nehru," Justice Sunil Gaur said.

"To say the least, the allegations of mala fide are preposterous and no note of these allegations is required to be taken.

“In the instant case, the allegations of mala fide levelled by petitioners are bald and unspecific and so, no notice of these allegations is taken," he ruled.

The court rejected the contentions of the AJL challenging the Centre's October 30 order ending its 56-year-old lease and asking it to vacate the Herald House.

The Centre and Land and Development Office (L&DO) have said in their order 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.

AJL had denied the allegations in the petition filed in the high court.

Justice Gaur said by transfer of AJL's 99 per cent shares to Young Indian (YI) company the beneficial interest of AJL's property worth Rs 413.40 crore stands ‘clandestinely’ transferred to YI.

Rahul and Sonia are majority shareholders in the YI.

"In fact, AJL has been hijacked by Young Indian Company, which brings the instant case within the purview of Clause III(13) of the Lease-Deed of 'the subject premises'," the court said.

The Centre had earlier contended before the court that transfer of 99 per cent stake in AJL to YI when the latter bought the former's Rs 90 crore debt for a consideration of Rs 50 lakh, led to a ‘virtual’ sale of the Herald building.

This ‘startling revelation’ regarding takeover of the AJL by YI, whose shareholders are Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vohra and Oscar Fernandes was made in a communication received by the Centre in June this year after which a second show cause notice was issued to AJL.

The court said it has not been shown as to how the eviction order is vitiated by mala fide or what is the bias and it is not spelt out as to what is the oblique motive in passing of the eviction order.

The judge further said that so far as merits of the eviction are concerned, "I find that it adheres to the principles of natural justice as a show-cause notice was issued, which was duly replied to, and thereafter, inspection of the ‘subject premises' was conducted, whereupon it was found that no 'press activity' was being carried out, even on the fourth floor of the ‘subject premises'."

Regarding the take-over of AJL by YI, the court said the beneficial interest of AJL is not technically transferred by way of sale/mortgage/gift, but it falls under the last category of 'or otherwise', as by the afore-noted novel modus operandi, AJL has been taken over by YI for all practical purposes.

"This court is conscious of the fact that Young Indian Company is a charitable company, but modus operandi to acquire 99 per cent of AJL's shares speaks volumes. The manner in which it has been done is also questionable," it said.

The Centre had earlier said that all the procedures have been followed to the hilt before issuing the notice.

The AJL had opposed the Centre's stand, saying that publication of web editions began in 2016 and the issue of absence of printing press in the premises was not raised then.

It had said the government kept silent till April 2018 when it again sent a notice for inspection and in which it had said that it was coming to check breaches mentioned in notice of October 10, 2016.

The L&DO had ended the lease -- entered into with AJL on August 2, 1962 and made perpetual on January 10, 1967 -- asking the company to hand over the possession by November 15.

The L&DO's order had also said that failure to hand over possession would lead to initiation of proceedings under the Public Premises Act.

In its plea, AJL has also said that the digital versions of English newspaper National Herald, Hindi's Navjivan and Urdu's Qaumi Awaz have commenced since 2016-17.

The weekly newspaper 'National Herald on Sunday' resumed on September 24 last year and the place of publication was the ITO premises, AJL had said, adding that the Hindi weekly newspaper Sunday Navjivan was also being published since October this year from the same premises.