No Coercive Eviction of Delhi Gymkhana Club Till September 16, Centre Tells High Court
The Central government told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it would not take any coercive action until September 16 regarding the eviction of the Delhi Gymkhana Club from its 27.3-acre premises on Safdarjung Road.
Justice Avneesh Jhingan was hearing petitions filed by club member Vijay Khurana and the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd. Staff Welfare Association. The pleas challenged a June 29 show-cause notice issued by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) directing the eviction of the historic club.
Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court that an earlier undertaking provided by the government would remain operative. “We will not take any action in a coercive manner. The (earlier) statement continues. We will not take any coercive action till the next date (September 16),” Mr. Sharma said.
The ongoing legal battle stems from the L&DO's decision on May 22 to terminate the Delhi Gymkhana Club’s perpetual lease. The authority had ordered the club to vacate the prime land citing the requirement of “strengthening and securing defence infrastructure”.
The Centre had previously argued before the court that the High Court held no legal authority to prevent the government from taking possession of the land once the perpetual lease had been terminated and the eviction notice issued.
Government counsel also contended that the perpetual lease was strictly a bilateral agreement between the Centre and the club. Because an individual club member was neither a party nor privy to that contractual agreement, the Centre argued that a member could not independently initiate legal proceedings to restrain the authorities from exercising their contractual rights.
In his lawsuit, which has received the backing of more than 500 club members, Mr. Khurana claimed that the reasons offered by the Centre, including defence infrastructure and security needs, were “vague” and “generalised” and amounted to a “sham”.
Mr. Khurana further alleged that the authorities were attempting to forcibly evict the club without adhering to due process of law. The High Court will take up the matter for its next hearing on September 16.
