Politics · India Bureau
Delhi HC judge recuses from Delhi Gymkhana Club eviction hearing
A Delhi High Court judge has stepped back from hearing a case challenging the government's move to evict the historic Delhi Gymkhana Club from its sprawling Safdarjung Road property. Justice Prateek Jalan cited personal considerations and directed the matter be reassigned to another bench.
LSN India ·
Justice Prateek Jalan on Wednesday recused himself from adjudicating the dispute between the colonial-era Delhi Gymkhana Club and the Centre over the club's occupancy of the 27.3-acre premises. Directing that the staff welfare association's lawsuit be listed before another bench on Friday, the judge said he preferred to step back from the matter.
"There is too much personal involved. I will feel more comfortable if someone else heard it," Justice Jalan observed during Wednesday's hearing. The judge indicated that he did not trust his own judgment in the case.
The eviction row stems from a May 22 order by the Land and Development Office terminating the Delhi Gymkhana Club's perpetual lease and directing it to vacate the property by June 5. The government cited the need for "strengthening and securing defence infrastructure" as the reason for the action.
Both club member Vijay Khurana and the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd Staff Welfare Association have filed separate petitions challenging the termination order. The case marks another chapter in the long-running dispute over the future of one of Delhi's most prominent leisure institutions.