The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed Delhi High Court order asking the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) to vacate the National Herald House building in ITO area in the heart of the national capital.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also issued notice to the Centre’s Land and Development Office (L&DO) on a plea of AJL against the High Court order.
The Delhi High Court had on February 28 dismissed National Herald publisher AJL’s plea challenging a single judge order to vacate its premises at ITO.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao rejected the appeal of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) in which it had challenged the Centre’s decision asking it to vacate the building.
Following this, the AJL had moved the apex court against the high court order dismissing its plea to restrain the Centre from taking any “coercive steps” to vacate its premises at Herald House.
The AJL had appealed against the single judge’s December 21, 2018 order that directed it to vacate the premises at ITO within two weeks, after which eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.