New Delhi, Oct 12 The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centre's response to a plea by several members of Delhi Gymkhana Club challenging the government's decision to take over its 27.3-acre premises and the subsequent eviction proceedings.
Justice Amit Mahajan issued notice to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Deputy Land and Development Officer, the Estate Officer and the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd and asked them to file their replies.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on November 17.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing the 11 club members who have filed the petition, urged the court to stay the proceedings going on under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.
The plea was opposed by the central government standing counsel, Ashish Dixit, who said PP Act proceedings cannot be stayed and further raised an objection on the maintainability of the writ petition.
He said under the PP Act, the remedy available to them is to approach the estate officer.
The petition said the impugned actions form part of the continuing course of conduct and are part of a colourable exercise by the Centre which has first secured control over the management of the club through a wholly Government-nominated General Committee and has thereafter proceeded, in its capacity as lessor, to resume the land held by the Gymkhana under a perpetual lease deed and, through the machinery of the PP Act to seek its eviction.
Petitioner Vipin Aggarwal and others said the authorities' actions violate their fundamental rights and result in a deprivation of property.
"The impugned actions are not the isolated acts of a landlord but the culmination of a sustained and conscious design by the respondent no. 1 (Centre) to take over the respondent Gymkhana, a design pursued over a quarter of a century and now sought to be completed while the Gymkhana is under a government-nominated management installed by the respondent no. 1 itself, whose very validity is pending before this court'¦," the plea said.
The petitioners said they are constrained to approach the court because the management of the club, situated at 2, Safdarjung Road, is unlikely to do so.
The petitioners have challenged the May 22 order of the L&DO terminating the perpetual lease deed and the June 29 eviction notice issued by the estate officer.
The Land and Development Office (L&DO), by its May 22 order, has terminated the colonial-era club's perpetual lease deed and asked it to return its land by June 5 on grounds of "strengthening and securing defence infrastructure".
Four other lawsuits are also pending adjudication before the High Court.
One of the lawsuits filed by the Gymkhana staff has said they are the cooks, waiters, kitchen and housekeeping staff, gardeners and groundsmen, electricians and plumbers, lifeguards, security personnel, etc working in the club and sought the protection of their source of livelihood as well as fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution.
