Delhi High Court Refuses to Stay Digging at Jaipur Polo Ground

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to grant a stay on digging activities to the Indian Polo Association at the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Ground in the Race Course area of Delhi, following the Central government's physical possession of the land.

A vacation bench of Justice Vinod Kumar ruled that because the Central government had already taken possession of the property, there was no question of granting an interim stay on the ongoing activities. The judge orally observed that if the association eventually succeeds in its legal appeal, a status quo ante will follow.

The court has listed the matter for its next hearing before the roster bench on July 1. This decision was made after the high court noted that the detailed order from the sessions court, which had previously refused interim relief to the association, was not yet available during the proceedings.

The Indian Polo Association had approached the high court to challenge the sessions court's order. During the hearing, the association expressed urgent concerns regarding the alleged digging of the turf while its appeal against the eviction order remained pending before the courts.

Counsel for the polo association urged the court to protect the historic ground, arguing that continued digging by the authorities would render their appeal infructuous. The counsel claimed that government authorities were completely destroying the century-old turf, which is of international standard. The association requested that the court order a halt to all digging activities until the roster bench could hear the case on July 1.

Representing the Central government, counsel Ashish Dixit countered these claims during the hearing. He stated that the government was only demarcating the land for the construction of a boundary wall. Dixit assured the court that no construction or digging work was being carried out on the actual playing turf of the polo ground.