Attempt to stifle voice of dissent: Abhishek Manu Singhvi on order to vacate Herald House

The Central government wants to stifle the right to dissent guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, stated Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, while appearing for Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), owner of the National Herald. AJL has been ordered to evict its headquarters at Herald House in Delhi..“At the heart of my case is arbitrariness and malice…there is patent non-application of mind. You (the Centre) are actuated by political motive”, Singhvi argued..A single judge Bench of Justice Sunil Gaur was hearing a writ petition moved by AJL against a Central government order asking it to vacate Herald House by November 15 after the determination of a perpetual lease between the two..AJL has challenged the “legality, validity, and reasonableness” of the order passed by the Land and Development Officer, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on October 30, 2018, directing it to vacate Herald House by November 15..The Centre had cancelled the lease on the ground that the said premises were being used only for commercial purposes in violation of Clause III (7) of the Lease Deed, and that no Press has been functioning in the said premises for last at least 10 years..Singhvi rebutted Centre’s claim that the premises was not being used for the purpose of “running a Press” by stating that AJL has been publishing online and weekly print versions of its newspaper in English, Hindi and Urdu language since 2016. He, however, acknowledged that there was a hiatus in the publication from 2008 due to financial difficulty..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has assured the Court that the government would not dispossess AJL, after the Court asked Govt to maintain status quo..“I assure you that I will not physically take over the premises…I am aware the matter is before the Court now”, he said..Justice Gaur then asked SG Mehta to present the records pertaining to the lease of Herald House on the next date of hearing..The matter will next be heard on November 22..In the petition filed through Advocate Priyansha Indra Sharma, it is claimed that the determination of the “Perpetual Lease” dated January 10, 1967, executed between AJL and the Central government with regards to the said premises is “based on frivolous, malicious, political, arbitrary grounds, none of which are contemplated under the Lease Deed and seeks to initiate illegal and impermissible action under The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.”.The order passed by the Land and Development Officer is therefore in violation of Article 14, 19 of the Constitution of India, the petition states.