No coercive action against Gymkhana Club until next hearing: Centre to Delhi HC

The Centre on Thursday (September 3, 2026) told the Delhi High Court that it would not take any coercive action against the Delhi Gymkhana Club until the next date of hearing on September 16.

The submission was made before Justice Avneesh Jhingan, who was hearing petitions by club member Vijay Khurana and the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd. Staff Welfare Association challenging a June 29 show-cause notice issued by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) ordering the club’s eviction from the 27.3-acre premises on Safdarjung Road.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court that the Centre’s earlier undertaking not to take coercive action would continue. “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 petitions arise from the L&DO’s May 22 decision terminating the Delhi Gymkhana Club’s perpetual lease and directing it to vacate the land on the ground of “strengthening and securing defence infrastructure”.

The Centre had earlier argued that the High Court had no legal authority to prevent the government from taking possession of the land after termination of the perpetual lease and issuance of the eviction notice.

It also contended that the perpetual lease was a bilateral agreement between the government and the club. Since an individual club member was neither a party nor privy to the agreement, the member could not independently restrain the authorities from exercising their contractual rights, the Centre said.

Mr. Khurana has alleged in his lawsuit that the reasons cited by the Centre, including defence infrastructure and security, were “vague” and “generalised” and amounted to a “sham”.

He has claimed that the government’s action was an attempt to forcibly evict the club without following due process of law. His lawsuit is stated to have the support of more than 500 club members.