Vacate Herald House: Delhi High Court upholds verdict
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IBNS): The Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld its own verdict asking the Congress-linked National Herald newspaper's publisher to vacate its headquarters in the national capital, media reports said.
Dismissing a plea filed by the publisher, the court has asked to vacate Herald House.
A two-judge bench had reserved its verdict on Feb 18.
Associated Journals limited, which owns National Herald, had challenged a government order on Oct 30 cancelling its 56-year-old lease and asking it to vacate Herald House.
The eviction order added a new twist to the National Herald case, which has been described by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a prime example of corruption by the Congress and the Gandhi family.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has alleged that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi - the Congress president - set up a company to buy debts worth Rs. 90 crore owed by Associated Journals, which publishes three newspapers including National Herald, founded by Jawaharlal Nehru - Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather - before he became India's first prime minister.
In 2008, Associated Journals had shut down over its debts. The BJP alleges that the Gandhis used Congress party funds to pay off its debts even though the publisher has real estate assets worth thousands of crores.
On Nov 12, National Herald tweeted that it was being targeted by the BJP government for its growing digital presence.
In 2012, Swamy had filed a case against then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, alleging irregularities related to a loan of Rs. 90 crore given by the Congress to the AJL.
Image Credit: www.delhihighcourt.nic.in
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
