AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (12) TMI 1731
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....nal rates for construction of five storied building (in addition to basement) for the purpose of running a Press on the ground floor and its offices on the first, second, third and fourth floors. As per the Perpetual Lease-Deed of 10th January, 1967 executed by respondent in favour of petitioner-AJL, the 'subject premises' was to be used by petitioners for construction of building for the bona fide use of their Press and for no other purpose. On the request of petitioner-AJL, respondent vide letter of 7th January, 2013 had permitted the use of basement and any one floor of the building for the Press and offices of the lessee and remaining four floors of the building could be let out to commercial concerns as Office Accommodation. When it came to the notice of respondent that no Press is functioning in the 'subject premises' for years and it was being used mainly for commercial purposes through sub-letting to various organizations, the Technical Team of Land and Development Office (for short 'L&DO') inspected the 'subject premises' and did not find any press activity in the entire building and also that the basement of the 'subject premises' w....
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....3) of the Lease Deed and have not been able to give any satisfactory reply to these violations which attract action against it under Clause V and VI of the Perpetual Lease." 2. Based upon the aforesaid conclusion, respondent vide impugned order of 30th October, 2018 (Annexure P-1) has decided to re-enter in the 'subject premises' allotted to petitioner-AJL with immediate effect by invoking Clauses V and VI of the Perpetual Lease-Deed (Annexure P-5). However, petitioners were granted two weeks' time to hand over the physical possession of the 'subject premises' to respondent, failing which respondent was to take possession of the 'subject premises' on 15th November, 2018. It is made clear in the impugned order that if possession of the 'subject premises' is not handed over by petitioners to respondent, then action under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as 'the PP Act') for eviction of petitioners shall be initiated, in addition to recovery of government dues on account of misuse and damage charges. 3. Challenge to impugned order/Notice (Annexure P-1) by learned seni....
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....f of petitioners that the online edition is replica of the physical newspaper and it can be downloaded in PDF files on desktop/mobile and these PDF files can be printed on paper and distributed by local outlets. 5. According to learned senior counsel for petitioners, impugned order fails to take note of the fact that petitioner-AJL had re-launched its newspapers on 12th June, 2017 and on 1st July, 2017. Learned senior counsel for petitioners vehemently contends that when petitioners' printing Press was not functional during the years 2008-2016, no ShowCause Notice was issued to petitioners and the issuance of Show-Cause Notice, when the printing activity has been re-launched by petitioners, is malicious and is vitiated by mala fides. It is asserted on behalf of petitioners that at no point of time, the basement of 'subject premises' was put to any other use than running of newspapers. It was pointed out that a photocopy shop, i.e. Akash Gift Gallery, is there in the 'subject premises' to serve and cater the tenants of petitioners and that prior to issuance of Show-Cause Notice, a suit for eviction has been filed against the said tenant-Akash Gift Gallery....
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....ned order is vitiated by mala fides and bias as it has been issued with oblique political motives. Learned senior counsel for petitioners further contends that impugned order is a covert measure to erase, efface and defame the legacy of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and that the instant proceedings have been initiated under the pressure and directions of the Ruling Party. It was submitted that it is so evident from the fact that impugned order was served upon petitioners in the afternoon of 1st November, 2018, but the news about it was published in the National Newspaper in the morning of 1st November, 2018 itself. 8. It was emphatically submitted by learned senior counsel for petitioners that the provisions of the PP Act cannot be invoked against petitioners by resorting to summary proceedings as the impugned order is vitiated by extraneous factors. Reliance was placed upon Supreme Court's decision in Express Newspapers Pvt. Ltd. and Others vs. Union of India and Others, (1986) 1 SCC 133 to submit that the provisions of the PP Act cannot be invoked to evict petitioners from the 'subject premises', as the 'subject premises' cannot be regarded as 'public premi....
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.... to learned Solicitor General of India, it is so evident from the inspection report, and that the inspection was carried out in the presence of Sh. Motilal Vora, CMD of AJL. It was also pointed out that the office of Young Indian is being also run from the 'subject premises' and the entire functioning of petitioner-AJL has been surreptitiously taken on over by Young Indian. It was also pointed out that petitioner-AJL had made a book entry in its accounts by substituting Young Indian in place of AICC/Indian National Congress as the entity entitled to recover the debt and by 'Deed of Assignment' of December, 2010, right to recover the debt of Rs. 90 crores was illegally assigned to Young Indian for a consideration of just Rs. 50 lacs and by virtue of Young Indian taking over AJL, the entire control of AJL now vests with Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Sh. Rahul Gandhi, Sh. Motilal Vohra and Sh. Oscar Fernandez and that in the year 2011, Young Indian had acquired beneficial interest in AJL's property worth Rs. 413 crores. According to learned Solicitor General of India, the printing activity of AJL is taking place in Noida since the year 2017-18 and the presence of petitioners&....
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....tly observed as under: - "Nothing stated here should be construed to mean that the Government has not the power to take recourse to the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 where admittedly there is unauthorized construction by a lessee or by any other person on Government land which is public premises within the meaning of Section 2 (e) and such person is in unauthorized occupation thereof" 13. A Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in Ashoka Marketing Ltd. (supra) has clearly reiterated that "Public Premises" under the PP Act means any premises belonging to, or taken on lease or requisitioned by, or on behalf of, the Central Government, and includes any such premises which have been placed by that government, whether before or after the commencement of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Act, 1980. 14. A Division Bench of this Court in Escorts Heart Institute (supra), Ambitious Gold Nim Manufacturi (supra) and other several Single Bench decisions of this Court, as referred to above, has ruled that correctness or otherwise of the allegations regarding determination of a Lease has to be decided b....
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....inting press is functioning at any floor of the premises and no paper stock was found anywhere. However, 4th floor is being bused by the AJL for their press related office. It was informed by the AJL representative that the organisation is presently publishing National Herald weekly paper since 24.9.2017. However, it sprinting takes place in the Printing Press of Indian Express at Noida. He further informed that employees working at 4th floor are associated with this weekly only and working as content writers. The visiting team was also made available the Newspapers since it started being published against on 24.9.2017. When enquired if the paper was not being published before 24.9.2017, it was also informed that the publishing of Weekly was earlier stopped and employees were given VRS due to poor financial condition of the company. As there was no printing activity seen anywhere in the entire premises, it is prima-facie observed that the terms & conditions of the lease agreement are not being fully adhered to." 17. Publication of a newspaper may be outsourced to Noida or elsewhere, but the essential 'press activity' of the editorial team was not discernible when th....