The Delhi Gymkhana Club, originally incorporated as Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club Limited, has been occupying a parcel of land on Safdarjung Road under a lease granted for the purpose of maintaining a social and sporting club. The Central Government, through its Estate Officer, issued a show cause notice directing the club to vacate the premises, asserting that the land is required for defence and public security purposes. The club and its members contend that the notice is untenable and have filed suits challenging the order directing vacation of the premises.
The suits were filed last month and summons were issued to the parties. In the pending proceedings, the club’s representatives have also moved applications seeking a stay on the operation of the show cause notice pending adjudication of the substantive suits.
Court’s Observations and Directions
Justice Avneesh Jhingan, presiding over the matter, noted that the applications filed by the club members and staff raise a serious question regarding the maintainability of the eviction notice in light of the pending suits. Consequently, the court issued notice to the Union of India, directing the Central Government to file its response to the applications.
During the hearing, the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, appeared on behalf of the Centre. He informed the court that the Central Government intends to file a detailed response to the applications by the next date of hearing before the High Court, which is fixed for 28 July 2026. In order to avoid any parallel proceedings that might prejudice the parties, the court requested the Solicitor General to ensure that the hearing scheduled before the Estate Officer on 7 July 2026 is adjourned to a date subsequent to the High Court’s next hearing date.