Delhi HC defers AJL plea hearing

New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing of a plea by the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publisher of the National Herald newspaper, challenging a single-judge bench order to vacate the Herald House.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao deferred the hearing to January 16 after it was informed that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and the AJL counsel and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi were not available to argue the case.

The AJL has moved a division bench challenging the December 21 order of the single-judge dismissing its plea against the Urban Development Ministry's October 30 direction that AJL's 56-year-old lease on Herald House was over and that it should vacate.

The single-judge bench had observed that the AJL has not disclosed the volume of the daily's publication and the extent of its circulation, both in print and online, across the country.

The AJL, in its appeal, said that volume of the publication was neither relevant nor was the company subjected to any query by the single-judge to this effect during the course of oral arguments.

"The High Court has plainly erred in completely ignoring these facts in the impugned order (December 21)," the appeal said.

The publication of the weekly 'National Herald on Sunday' was resumed on September 24, 2017 and it is published from the Herald House. On October 14, the AJL also resumed its weekly Hindi newspaper.

AJL further added that single-judge bench had displayed unwarranted haste, uncalled for in the facts and circumstances of the present case.