New Delhi: In a battle between Delhi’s 113-year-old club of elites and the Centre, the Delhi High Court Tuesday refused to give interim relief to Delhi’s Gymkhana Club against the Centre’s eviction notice.
The court’s decision came after an assurance from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that if eviction proceedings were carried out, they would be done only after prior notice and not with “police force”.
After Tuesday’s hearing, a bench of Justice A. Jhingan issued a notice on a plea from club members and one from the club’s staff to the central government, posting the matter for the end of July.
The legal proceedings stem from a Land and Development Office (L&DO) notice sent Friday to the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over the club land to the Centre by 5 June under clause 4 of the original lease deed, which permits the government to resume possession of land if required for “public purpose” and “critically required for strengthening and securing defence infrastructure and other vital public security purposes.”
The club’s petition, argued by senior advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, states that the government’s direction to vacate the 27.3-acre premises is arbitrary and violates due process.
Another plea filed by the Staff Welfare Association of the Delhi Gymkhana—which is nominated by the central government—argued by senior advocate and independent RS MP Kapil Sibal, said the eviction notice was unconstitutional. Sibal stated that even with unauthorised occupation, a procedure has to be followed, and it was not done in this case.
Sibal submitted that the show cause notice required for eviction and reentry cannot come after the eviction notice; nor has the Centre clearly spelt out the “public purpose” for which the government wants the land.
Both pleas argue that the use of “public purpose” must be real and just.
For the central government, SG Mehta relied upon para 7 of the communciation letter which says: “You are directed to hand over peaceful possession of the premises to the representative of this office on the aforesaid date. In the event of non-compliance, possession shall be taken in accordance with law.”
The L&DO, which comes under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), had written three letters to the club authorities in a span of nine months—in September 2025, March 2026 and again on 16 April—to clear the ground rent to the tune of Rs 47.58 crore that the club owed to the agency, ThePrint had learnt earlier. The DGC had failed to pay the dues.
The general committee overseeing Delhi Gymkhana Club Monday urged the Centre not to disrupt the functioning of the institution.
The court also recorded previous litigation—on how the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) was approached by the central government regarding mismanagement by the governing body of the club. The NCLT, at the government’s request, ordered the appointment of 15 members to be nominated by the government for running day-to-day business. The order of NCLT was upheld by National Company Law Appellate Tribunal and the matter is now before the Supreme Court.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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