Delhi Gymkhana Club Eviction Row Explained: ₹47.58 Cr In Unpaid Dues, A High Court Battle & 14,000 Members In Limbo

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Delhi High Court is set to hear the Delhi Gymkhana Club's petition challenging the Centre's eviction notice, escalating the legal battle over control of the elite 113-year-old institution. The petition argues that the government's direction to vacate the 27.3-acre premises by 5 June is arbitrary and violates due process. Members have alleged that the move is an attempt to seize control of the club despite ongoing legal and administrative proceedings.

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The Delhi Gymkhana Club, one of India's oldest and most storied private institutions, is fighting a government order to vacate its 27.3-acre premises in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi by 5 June.

What is the Delhi Gymkhana Club? Why Does It Matter?

Founded in 1913 during the British Raj, the Delhi Gymkhana Clu is among the oldest sporting and social institutions in the Indian capital. Situated at 2, Safdarjung Road, in the heavily secured enclave of Lutyens' Delhi that also houses the Prime Minister's residence and several key government installations, the club occupies 27.3 acres of prime land held on a perpetual lease from the government.

Its membership list has historically read as a who's who of Indian public life: senior civil servants, retired and serving military officers, judges, politicians and diplomats.

The Delhi Gymkhana Club currently has approximately 14,000 members and users, and employs more than 500 staff. Reportedly the Delhi Gymkhana Club also boasts long waiting lists for membership, ranging up to 10 years.

Prominent Members of Delhi Gymkhana Club

Founded in 1913 under the presidency of Spencer Harcourt Butler, a senior British colonial administrator, the Delhi Gymkhana Club has across its 113-year history counted among its members some of the most powerful figures in Indian public life. Former Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Secretaries and Chiefs of the Armed Forces have all held membershi.

Its approximately 5,000 permanent members are drawn predominantly from the senior ranks of the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service, the Indian Police Service and the armed forces, with life and corporate memberships extended to distinguished individuals from the legal, diplomatic and corporate worlds.

Among its more publicly recognised contemporary members is Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader and Member of Parliament, who was granted a much publicised membership in 2006.

Senior Advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who has represented club members in the current legal proceedings before the Delhi High Court, is also among its prominent figures reportedly.

Retired General P K Sehgal, a senior military veteran with a long association with the club dating to 1972, has been closely involved in its advisory affairs.

Following the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) intervention in April 2022, the government appointed a general committee of professionals to administer the club, drawing from senior figures across law, the civil service and politics. These included Nalin Satyakam Kohli, advocate at the Supreme Court of India and national spokesperson for the BJP; Kuljeet Singh Chahal, General Secretary of the Delhi BJP; Ajay Prakash Sawhney, a former IAS officer; and retired IPS officers Malay Kumar Sinha and Kumar Rajesh Chandra, the latter a former Director General of the Sashastra Seema Bal.

The Delhi Gymkhana Club does not publicly release a comprehensive membership roster, citing privacy protocols.

The Eviction Order: What the Government Has Said

On 22 May 2026, the Land and Development Office (L&DO, which operates under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, issued a notice directing the Delhi Gymkhana Club to vacate and hand over its entire 27.3-acre premises by 5 June. The notice invoked Clause 4 of the original lease deed, which permits the government to resume possession of land required for "public purpose."

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The government's stated justification was that the land, given its location near the Prime Minister's residence and other high-security zones, was "critically required for the strengthening and securing of defence infrastructure and other vital public security purposes."

The government notice to Delhi Gymkhana Club stated that the land was also needed to fulfil "urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure, and public interest projects, integrated with the resumption of adjoining government lands."

Crucially, the notice specified that upon re-entry, "the entire plot of land measuring 27.3 acres, along with all buildings, standing erections, structures, lawns, and fittings thereon, shall vest absolutely in the Lessor, i.e., the President of India, through the Land and Development Office."

The Case Goes to the Delhi High Court: What Happened on Tuesday

The Delhi Gymkhana Club moved the Delhi High Court challenging the eviction order. The plea was mentioned before Justice Avneesh Jhingan by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on behalf of club member Vijay Khurana, who sought an urgent hearing. Justice Jhingan agreed to list the matter for hearing today, 26 May (Tuesday).

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Earlier, on 16 May, the government-nominated committee overseeing the club had separately approached the Delhi High Court and obtained a stay on ground rent proceedings, on the basis that "some endeavours are being made to amicably resolve the dispute." The court fixed 21 July as the next date in that matter.

Members of the previously elected managing committee are also separately planning to move the High Court to challenge the L&DO's takeover notice.

The ₹47.58 Crore Ground Rent Question: A Backstory the Club Did Not Make Public

The eviction order did not emerge without warning. According to reports by ThePrint, the L&DO had written three formal letters to the club's management over a nine-month period, each demanding payment of outstanding ground rent.

The first letter, dated 12 September 2025, raised a demand for revised ground rent with interest totalling ₹32.88 crore. A second letter on 27 March 2026 asked the club to provide copies of rent deeds executed with Punjab National Bank, which occupies office space within the club premises, for the determination of additional subletting charges. When no adequate response was received, a third and final letter was issued on 16 May 2026, consolidating the outstanding amount at ₹47.58 crore and issuing a seven-day ultimatum.

Also Read | Delhi Gymkhana members move Delhi high court against Centre's eviction notice

That letter stated plainly: "Failure to comply with these directions and remit the outstanding amount of ₹47,58,91,317 within the stipulated 7-day period will constrain this office to initiate re-entry proceedings for the premises, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the lease deed."

It also noted that subletting charges relating to the Punjab National Bank office space had not yet been calculated, as the club had failed to submit the required documents.

Critically, a member of the last elected managing committee told ThePrint that the government-appointed committee overseeing the club had not informed ordinary members about the L&DO notices or the accumulating dues. The disclosure has added a layer of internal accountability questions to an already complex controversy.

Who Is Running the Club Now and How Did It Come to This?

The Delhi Gymkhana Club's current administration is not its elected membership committee. In April 2022, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) granted the government permission to take over the club's administration following a prolonged governance dispute. A government-nominated committee has been running the Delhi Gymkhana Club ever since.

That committee, in its letter to the L&DO on Monday, said it had been "tirelessly working for over 4 years, managing the affairs of the Club effectively and have turned the club around from its dire financial state of losses." It pointed to financial data showing a projected profit of ₹9.25 crore for 2023-24, against a loss of ₹12.39 crore in 2021-22, as evidence of the turnaround.

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The committee also noted that the improvement had been achieved without issuing new memberships, which had previously been the club's primary revenue source, and that it had digitised membership records, of which nearly 43 per cent had been unavailable when it took charge in 2022.

Members of the previous elected committee, however, have taken a starkly different view, alleging that the government-appointed body failed to comply with its statutory obligations and deliberately created grounds for the government to reclaim the land.

What the Club Is Asking For: Alternatives, Employees and Time

In the immediate aftermath of the eviction order, the government-nominated committee wrote to the L&DO requesting a meeting with ministry officials. Its letter sought clarity on several urgent matters, including the future of the club's more than 600 permanent and contractual employees in the event of relocation, commitments the club had made to upcoming sporting, cultural and other events, and whether the government might consider allocating an alternative plot of land to allow the club to relocate rather than close.

One committee member told reporters:“We are in regular conversation with the L&DO and officials in the Urban Development Ministry. We are trying our best to ensure that the club continues at its present location.”

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The committee also argued that relocation would require substantial capital expenditure to rebuild decades of infrastructure and facilities, and that any abrupt action would "severely disrupt the functioning" of the institution and "impact multiple stakeholders like members, employees, sportsmen, etc."

Members Respond: 'Illegal', 'Selective' and a Warning About Precedent

Delhi Gymkhana Club members reportedly convened a meeting on Monday and described the proposed takeover as "illegal," while also raising what they characterised as concerns about selective enforcement. They argued that "similar clubs should get similar treatment" and rejected the suggestion that the Delhi Gymkhana Club was an illegitimate occupant of public land.

Members said the premises are actively used for sport, recreation and cultural activity by thousands of people and their families, and that the club's heritage value extended well beyond the commercial worth of its land.

The fate of 14,000 members, more than 600 employees and a 111-year-old institution hangs in the balance of a dispute that is as much about governance and accountability as it is about land.

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