New Delhi, April 5: In a major relief to Associated Journal Ltd (AJL), controlled by the top brass of Congress party, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Delhi High Court order directing it to vacate its Herald House building at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg - a street having the offices of various newspapers. A bench, head by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, also issued a notice to Land and Development Office over eviction order of the Herald House.

The AJL has sought a stay of the Delhi High Court's February 28 decision and also that of the Law and Development Officer's October 30, 2018 order asking the AJL to vacate the Herald House as its lease has ended. The AJL had executed the lease deed on January 10, 1967. On February 28, a division bench of the Delhi High Court had refused to interfere with the single judge bench's December 21, 2018 order, describing it as a reasonable order passed in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

The AJL, in its plea before the Supreme Court against the order, has contended that the "determination of the lease deed (by the Land and Development Officer) is ex facie malicious, arbitrary, based on extraneous grounds, and has been effected for political considerations contrary to the express provisions of the lease deed itself". Besides Congress leaders Oscar Fernandes and Motilal Vora, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother and former party chief Sonia Gandhi have shares of it.

The AJL also contended despite noticing the voluminous evidence placed on record to show that it was, in fact, carrying out the publication of several newspapers for last several decades, it was held that no press activity was going on from the premises.

The High Court had relied on a latter by Congress leader Vora on September 26, 2016, about non-publication of the newspaper due to financial trouble for over eight years, it said. (With agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 05, 2019 01:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).