Delhi HC Refuses Status Quo on Central Secretariat Club Eviction Plea

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to order a status quo on a petition filed by the 107-year-old Central Secretariat Club challenging the Union government's decision to withdraw its recognition and evict it from its premises on Park Street near Talkatora Road.

A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice to the Centre and sought a short reply, declining an immediate interim stay requested by the club's counsel. The matter has been listed for its next hearing on August 24.

The dispute follows action by the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which withdrew the club's recognition on February 24 citing alleged irregularities and violations, including gambling, withholding of information, and financial misappropriation. The DoPT upheld the derecognition on July 14, after which an estate officer issued an order on July 17 directing the club to immediately vacate the premises.

Appearing for the club, advocates Diya Kapur and Nakul Gandhi urged the court to grant status quo, arguing that the authorities were attempting to take over the property following the eviction directive. The lawyers contended that the eviction order was legally unsustainable and perverse because it had been passed without issuing any prior notice to the institution.

In its petition, the club alleged that the derecognition order was malicious, unconstitutional, and amounted to a colourable exercise of administrative power. It further argued that the Centre was attempting to weaponise administrative failures and the alleged misdeeds of an ad hoc committee to forcibly dispossess the club and extinguish the historic institution in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Formerly known as the Talkatora Club, the Central Secretariat Club was established in 1919. The historic facility operates from Park Street and caters primarily to serving and retired central government employees.