The BJP Friday described the National Herald case a "text book case" of corruption after Delhi High Court dismissed a plea by the publisher of the Congress mouth piece, challenging the central government's order to vacate its premises here.
"As far as National Herald is concerned, it is a text book case. The newspaper is not being published but huge tracts of land be it in Delhi, Mumbai or Chandigarh is being aspired to be owned by a private trust," the Union Minister said, adding that the court has upheld the government's decision.
The Delhi High Court Friday ordered the publisher of Congress mouthpiece National Herald to vacate within two weeks its premises here, holding there was no mala fide in the Centre's eviction order.
Dismissing the allegations of mala fide against the BJP government as "preposterous", the court said the publisher Associated Journals Limited (AJL) was "hijacked" by Young Indian (YI) company in which party chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are majority shareholders.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that a private trust, among whose trustee are the Gandhi family members, has tried to appropriate the real estate owned by the newspaper.
In hard hitting observations in its 17-page verdict, the court held that the AJL has not provided any instances to support the serious allegations of mala fide levelled against the ruling dispensation, a reference to the BJP government at the Centre.
It said the AJL will have to vacate its premises within two weeks failing which proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated for its eviction.
The court rejected the contentions of the AJL challenging the Centre's October 30 order ending its 56-year-old lease and asking it to vacate the Herald House.
The Centre and Land and Development Office (L&DO) have said in their order that no press has been functioning in the premises for at least past 10 years and it was being used only for commercial purposes in violation of the lease deed.
AJL had denied the allegations in the petition filed in the high court.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)