Jaipur Polo Ground’s gates closed after the takeover by the Centre through the Land and Development Office (L&DO), in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (July 1, 2026) posted the hearing next for July 9 on the Indian Polo Association’s petition against a sessions court’s decision refusing to stay the Centre’s May 20 order evicting it from the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Ground in the national capital.
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar deferred hearing in the matter after noting that a copy of the sessions court’s decision was not available with the parties yet.
On the petitioner’s concerns over digging up the polo turf, the Centre’s lawyer assured that no such alteration would happen in the meantime.
“You are anyway in possession. Therefore, there is no hurry to tear it up right now,” Justice Shankar told the Centre’s lawyer.
Central government counsel Ashish Dixit had told a vacation bench on June 29 that the polo ground was being demarcated for raising a boundary and nothing was being done on the turf where the sport is played.
On Wednesday (July 1, 2026), senior advocate Kirtiman Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the appeal against the eviction order was coming up for hearing before the sessions court on July 23 and sought a direction to the authorities not to “destroy” the polo ground till it is heard.
In its petition, the Indian Polo Association has assailed a June 18 order of the sessions court, which acts as the appellate authority under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, rejecting its interim application seeking restoration of possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground, stay of enforcement and execution of the May 20 eviction order, and a restraint against demolition, uprooting, digging, disturbing or altering the Jaipur Polo Ground.
The petitioner had sought reasonable access for routine maintenance, preservation and upkeep of the polo turf and associated sporting infrastructure.
It has said the authorities have already taken possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground during pendency of the appeal and commenced “irreversible activities” like digging, uprooting and other physical alterations of the land and turf, which would render the matter infructuous.
“The Jaipur Polo Ground is a specialised sporting facility and not ordinary vacant land. Its turf requires continuous mowing, irrigation, levelling, aeration, rolling, grass-cover management, weed control and upkeep by trained ground staff,” the plea stated.
Published – July 02, 2026 05:45 am IST
