The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Delhi High Court order of February 28 which ordered the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publishers of the Congress mouthpiece National Herald to vacate the ‘Herald House’ premises it had been occupying for over 50 years.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also issued notice to Land and Development Office on an appeal of AJL against the High Court order.

On February 28, in what was seen as a big setback to the Congress party mouthpiece, the Delhi High Court had asked the company to vacate its building on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg at ITO. The order came on the plea filed by AJL challenging single judge bench order asking it to vacate the premises which had upheld Urban Development Ministry notification dated October 30, 2018 saying that AJL’s 56-year-old lease on Herald House had expired and therefore it must vacate.

The Centre had prayed to Delhi HC to quash the appeal saying that Young Indian Company, in which Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are shareholders, was purposely founded with an aim to seize Herald House.

—India Legal Bureau