In a development that will be perceived to be a blow to the Congress, government officials on Thursday started evicting the offices of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in Delhi, which has been linked to the National Herald Scam.
The AJL office at Herald House also houses the National Herald newspaper, which is the Congress's mouthpiece.
The Delhi High Court on Monday deferred the petition filed by Associated Journals Ltd, the owner of National Herald newspaper, against the Centre's decision to cancel its lease and vacate the Herald House by November 15 on grounds of violation of lease clauses.
The Centre had issued the order on October 30. Deferring the case to November 15, the single judge bench of Justice Sunil Gaur had observed that there was no urgency in the plea and the case filed had not yet reached it for hearing. Congress leaders allege the eviction was happening even as the Delhi High Court was hearing AJL's plea on Thursday. In Haryana, the governor on Thursday granted sanction to prosecute former Congress chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with the National Herald Scam.
In 2012, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a case against then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, alleging irregularities related to a loan of Rs 90 crore given by the Congress to the AJL.
The National Herald Case has been an emotive issue used by the BJP to target the Gandhi family in recent years. The eviction is bound to trigger a political uproar. On November 12, the National Herald tweeted it was being targeted by the Narendra Modi government for its growing digital presence.
