Delhi police use force to vacate UNI office, press bodies condemn move

ACTING on a Delhi High Court order, the Delhi Police and CRPF personnel on Friday, March 20, “allegedly dragged” about 50 journalists out of the United News of India (UNI) office on Rafi Marg, according to The Hindu.

Police officials stated they descended upon the premises on Friday evening to provide security for the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry’s Land and Development Office (L&DO), which sealed the office following the court's order to vacate.

Speaking to The Hindu, a UNI staffer alleged that the police arrived around 6 pm on Friday and directed all staffers to vacate the premises without providing any notice or time to collect their belongings.

“They were not giving us time to speak to our management. They did not allow reporters who had gone out for assignments to enter the office to collect their belongings,” the staffer alleged. The staffer added that they forcibly removed all employees, even women, from their seats and dragged them out of the office.

The news organisation also made this allegation in a post on X. “Despite requests from employees to be given some time and to wait for the arrival of company management, and demands to show a notice, they forcibly dragged and pushed some employees, including female staff, away from their seats and out of the newsroom.

The employees were also subjected to verbal abuse”. However, the police denied this, stating that no journalists were manhandled and that they had video recordings to prove so.

The Statesman, which rescued the news organisation from insolvency in March 2025 with a Rs 75 crore acquisition, also issued a statement.

“In an unprecedented atrocity and attack on freedom of media in India, the Rafi Marg office of the nation’s oldest news agency, United News of India (UNI), was literally attacked by a police force that would put an anti-terror operation to shame. Employees were not given time to even collect their belongings or hear from management. The management has been left outside, and employees are being beaten inside,” the daily said. 

Newslaundry reported in March 2025 that the National Company Law Tribunal approved a Rs 75 crore bid by The Statesman to rescue UNI from insolvency. While the plan settled UNI’s government dues and bank debts in full, our report highlighted a staggering human cost: the employees – UNI's “backbone” through years of delayed wages and mounting dues – were set to receive just 22.35 per cent of the Rs 104.37 crore they’re owed.

Press bodies condemn Delhi Police’s actions

In a statement on Saturday, the Editor’s Guild of India condemned the “excess use of force” and the “undue haste shown in implementing a High Court order."

“While the Guild does not question the need to implement the High Court's order, what is disturbing is the lack of due process and the manifestly excessive display of force by the authorities in executing the Court's directions,” the statement noted. The EGI also made note of the allegations that some women journalists were manhandled.

“The alacrity with which the authorities reacted, as well as the overwhelming display of force, sends a chilling message to the media. The action has not only halted the dissemination of news to UNI's subscribers but has also cast a shadow over the future of the organisation and the careers of hundreds of journalists. The EGI urges the authorities to exercise greater restraint and desist from actions which restrict the freedom of the media to operate and carry out its functions in a democracy,” the EGI concluded.

Meanwhile, the Press Club of India (PCI) expressed “deep shock at the manhandling of journalists” in a statement issued on Saturday. 

“PCI condemns in the strongest possible terms such highhandedness unleashed on the journalists, including women workers,” the statement noted, adding that it “urges the authorities to take prompt action against whoever was responsible for such misconduct.”

A land dispute

At the centre of Friday’s events is a directive by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) that mandated the news agency vacate the property. On Friday, the Delhi High Court upheld the decision to revoke UNI’s land allotment, finding no illegality in the cancellation notice issued by the L&DO on March 29, 2023. The court observed that the news organisation had not built on the site at Rafi Marg for more than 40 years, concluding that it had effectively “squatted on valuable public land”.

According to The Hindu, “The High Court had found no illegality in the March 29, 2023, cancellation letter issued by the L&DO, which had revoked UNI’s allotment of land at Rafi Marg. UNI had moved the court against the cancellation letter in 2023. It noted that, under the original allotment terms dating back to 1979, UNI was required to complete construction of a composite office complex within 2 years of taking possession. However, no construction activity was undertaken, and even preliminary steps towards the project were not initiated.” 

Additionally, the ruling noted that while the plot was meant for joint use by the news organisations, the Press Club of India, and the Press Association, UNI, as the primary allottee, did not meet its mandatory obligations.