New Delhi, February 28: In a major setback to the Congress mouthpiece – National Herald, the Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld the eviction of Associated Journals Limited from Herald House. The court rejected the appeal in which the AJL challenged the Centre’s decision asking it to vacate the ITO premises.

Heading the panel of the bench, Chief Justice Rajendra Menon dismissed the plea and directed the AJL to vacate the office within two weeks. The bench also comprised Justice VK Rao. According to the new order, the AJL will now have to vacate its ITO premise soon, which they challenged in the High Court on December 21, 2018. The single bench again heard the matter on January 16, 2019, and they set the next hearing date on February 18. National Herald Case: Delhi High Court to Hear on January 16 Appeal of AJL Against Order to Vacate Premises. 

According to the case, the AJL had appealed in the High Court against the Centre’s order in which they were directed to vacate the premise. The court in its December 21, 2018, order had observed that AJL should vacate the premise within two weeks, as the case pertains to Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated.

In the previous proceeding, the bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon cited some health issues and asked whether the matter could be heard some other day. To which, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for AJL, agreed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 28, 2019 11:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).