Members and employees of the Delhi Gymkhana Club have approached the Delhi High Court seeking relief against a show-cause notice issued by the Centre that could pave the way for their eviction from the club’s Safdarjung Road premises in Lutyens’ Delhi.
The applications, filed by club member Vijay Khurana and the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd Staff Welfare Association, seek a stay on the operation of the notice and have been listed for hearing before Justice Avneesh Jhingan on July 6.
The pleas form part of an ongoing legal challenge to the government’s move to reclaim the club’s 27.3-acre property. On May 22, the Land and Development Office (L&DO) directed the colonial-era institution to hand back the land by June 5, citing the need for “strengthening and securing defence infrastructure”.
The latest challenge comes after the L&DO, functioning under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, issued a show-cause notice on June 29 under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The notice asked the club to explain why an eviction order should not be passed against it.
Issued by Estate Officer Bipin Kumar Singh, the notice directed the club and all occupants of the premises to submit their replies by July 7 and appear for a personal hearing later that day.
The Centre’s latest action follows proceedings before the Delhi High Court in May, when the government assured the court that it would not take forcible possession of the property before following due process. The court had then declined to grant interim protection to the club while recording the government’s assurance.
In his petition, Khurana has argued that the reasons cited by the government for reclaiming the property are insufficient and lack specificity. According to the plea, the references to defence infrastructure and security requirements are “vague and generalised” and amount to an “attempt to effect forced eviction” without following the legal process.
The petition states that more than 500 members support the legal challenge mounted against the government’s action.
The dispute forms part of a wider battle over government-owned land in Lutyens’ Delhi. Last month, the Centre took physical possession of the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Ground after eviction proceedings, saying the land was required for a larger public purpose.
The Gymkhana Club, established in 1913, is among the capital’s oldest private clubs and has remained at the centre of a legal and public debate since the government’s move to reclaim the property earlier this year.
(With inputs from agencies)
