NEW DELHI: The stage is set for multiple legal battles as permanent members and employees of Delhi Gymkhana Club (DGC) gear up to challenge Centre’s order in Delhi High Court to hand over the club’s 27.3-acre prime land. Several members rejected govt’s reasoning that the club is located at a “highly sensitive and strategic area” and its future use for “strengthening and securing of defence infrastructure and other vital public security purposes”.Club members said senior advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been engaged to represent members of DGC, which has been at 2, Safdarjung Road for over 113 years. Two petitions are likely to be filed — one by members and another by the club’s 600-odd employees.The club’s permanent members had a marathon meeting on Sunday evening to decide the legal course of action, a day after Land and Development Office (L&DO), which comes under housing and urban affairs ministry, directed DGC to hand over its entire premises — all its buildings, structures, lawns and fittings. L&DO has asked DGC to vacate the premises by June 5 by prematurely terminating the “perpetual lease”.On Saturday, a govt-appointed general committee (GC) had informed club members that it would meet ministry officials and seek clarity on issues in the interest of members and employees. However, a person involved in the deliberations said, “What will the govt-appointed committee tell to govt against its order? So, the only option left with us is to approach the court. There is a lack of transparency and ethical issues related to the future of employees. We also resolved to convey to people at large that the majority of members are pensioners.”Meanwhile, it’s learnt that GC on Sunday wrote to L&DO urging it to consider no dislocation until there is clarity about issues — if there was any plan to allocate a substitute plot, consider investment made towards improving infrastructure and facilities, and protection of all employees and staff of the club.General P K Sehgal (retd), who has been associated with the club since 1972, said members have unanimously decided to challenge the eviction order legally. The “sudden decision” to take the land back has raised concerns among members about the club’s future and where the club will be shifted, he added.Expressing concern about the future of the club and its employees, staring at the risk of losing livelihood, public figures, including India’s first woman IPS officer and former Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, called govt’s move “tragic and unfortunate”, while some members alleged that official reasons mentioned in the order were “frivolous”.“The club has been there since 1930s and the PM residence was shifted to the current location in 1984. If there had been a security issue, the PM residence won’t have been shifted. There have been no issues in the past 42 years,” a former DGC general secretary said.On Sunday, Gymkhana Employee Welfare Association also opposed the govt’s decision. “Our slums are already being demolished; been working here for 25-26 years, our only source of income is being taken away, where will we go now?” asked an employee. Association president Nandan Singh Negi said, “Employees are in despair, worried about their families.”Nitin Verma, a member, said govt wants to close down the club on “fictitious” grounds. “The greatest discipline is maintained here…Everybody is screened…Now the prime minister’s residence is also shifting. What security concern is there? Because nothing has happened till now. I think this is just fictitious,” he said.In a post on X, Kiran Bedi said hope the proposal is reconsidered and added that late finance minister Arun Jaitley had got a new pool constructed during his lifetime and the finest tennis matches have been played here. “So much history, so many memories, and generations of sporting excellence are associated with this place. DGC is not just a property — it is part of our institutional and sporting heritage. Change may be necessary, but history and legacy deserve thoughtful preservation. We can plan to add something new there too,” she said.Some members also charged govt of not giving enough time and for not taking into consideration the future of the club’s employees. Sehgal said the govt order without any prior warning or advance notice threatens 600 employees losing jobs. However, ministry officials said due process has been followed and the order was issued giving two week’s time.Former diplomat K C Singh on X said that “destroying” the club is “untenable”. He said the club, besides its other services, was famous for its tennis and squash facilities. Tagging Kiran Bedi, he said DGC is a repository of sporting, services and cultural memories.Members are dejected by the development and have decided to file a petition against the move, for which signatures are being collected, former RA&W chief AS Dulat, who is a former president of the club, said.Historian Swapna Liddle said the club was essentially a British-only club for officials and a certain class till 1945. Indians began gaining admission to the club in 1945 and that its identity evolved significantly after Independence, she said. “One of the interesting things happening around independence was that parties were being held in the club for bureaucrats and armed personnel who were leaving for Pakistan. These were people who had been in the same service, and now they were all separating. A lot of the parties held at the time were farewell gatherings for those going away to Pakistan,” she said.
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