Delhi High Court lifts stay on eviction proceedings against Delhi Race Club

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed the Central government to resume eviction proceedings against the Delhi Race Club over its continued occupation of government land in central Delhi [Union of India & Anr v Delhi Race Club Ltd.]

A Bench comprising of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia allowed an appeal filed by the Union government against an interim order that had stopped eviction proceedings against the Delhi Race Club under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.

The Bench today set aside the interim protection granted earlier by a single-judge.

The dispute relates to around 53 acres of government land on Race Course Road, now called Lok Kalyan Marg, occupied by the Delhi Race Club. The Centre claimed that the Club’s lease expired on December 31, 1994 and was never renewed after that.

The appeal before the Division Bench challenged a single-judge order dated April 24 which had stopped the Estate Officer from proceeding further on a show-cause notice issued to the Club on April 17. The notice had asked the Club to explain why eviction proceedings should not be initiated against it.

The Centre argued that the Race Club had directly approached the High Court even though the matter was still at the notice stage and no final eviction order had been passed yet. It said the Public Premises Act already provides a process where the Estate Officer first hears the matter and any aggrieved party can later file an appeal under Section 9 (allows appeal against Estate Officer’s order).

The Centre also argued that questions such as whether the lease still exists, whether the occupation is authorised and the effect of past payments should first be examined by the Estate Officer.

"The Respondent (Delhi Race Club) cannot, merely by asserting a subsisting lease, oust the jurisdiction of the Estate Officer or seek quashing of the show cause notice at the threshold," submitted the appeal.

According to the government, the original lease for the land was granted in 1926 for 25 years, with extensions possible subject to conditions and approval. The Centre said the last extension expired in 1994 and no further renewal was granted.

The Race Club had argued before the single-judge that its lease rights continued and that proceedings under the Public Premises Act could not be started against it.

The single-judge granted interim relief to the club.

The Centre then approached the Division Bench which lifted the stay imposed by the single-judge.

Central Government Standing Counsel Ashish K Dixit appeared for the Union of India.