The National Herald building in press enclave area of ITO, New Delhi. (File Photo)
Rejecting to give an urgent hearing on the plea of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publisher of the National Herald newspaper, against the Centre's order asking it to vacate its premises, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it will hear the matter on November 15.
Justice Sunil Gaur said it will hear the AJL's plea on Thursday (November 15).
The publisher had approached the high court on Monday challenging the October 30 order of the Urban Development Ministry, ending its 56-year-old lease and asking it to vacate the premises in the press enclave at ITO in New Delhi.
One of the grounds mentioned in the Centre's order is that no press has been functioning in the premises for last at least 10 years and that it is being used only for commercial purposes in violation of the lease deed.
This allegation has been refuted by AJL in the petition filed by the firm and its company secretary.
As per the petition, the digital versions of English newspaper 'National Herald', Hindi's 'Navjivan' and Urdu's 'Qaumi Awaz' have commenced since 2016-17.
The weekly newspaper 'National Herald on Sunday' was resumed from September 24 last year and the place of publication was the ITO premises, the petition claimed, and added that the Hindi weekly newspaper 'Sunday Navjivan' was also being published since October this year from the same premises.
"The necessary licenses and authorisations for the purposes of publication were also placed on record, in particular, the necessary licenses have been obtained by the petitioner (AJL)," it said.
(With inputs from agencies)
