The Union government on Friday ordered the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its 27.3-acre premises at 2, Safdarjung Road to the Land & Development Office (L&DO) by June 5, invoking a public purpose clause in the original lease deed.
The order signed by deputy land and development officer Suchit Goyal, describes the premises as falling within a “highly sensitive and strategic area” of the capital and says they are critically required for strengthening defence infrastructure and public security purposes.
“The land is essential to fulfil urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure, and public-interest projects, integrated with the resumption of adjoining government lands,” said the order by the L&DO, which falls under the housing and urban affairs ministry.
Nestled in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, the Delhi Gymkhana Club stands adjacent to the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. The club was founded in 1913 as the Imerial Delhi Gymkhana Club, renamed after Independence, and is today among the country’s oldest elite institutional clubs.
Friday’s order is the culmination of a governance dispute that has been building for years: in April 2022, the National Company Law Tribunal allowed the ministry of corporate affairs to nominate directors to the club’s general committee, citing mismanagement.
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Upon re-entry, the entire plot, along with all buildings, standing erections, structures, lawns, and fittings, shall vest absolutely with the President of India. Should the club fail to comply by the deadline, possession will be taken in accordance with law, the order sent to the club’s secretary added.
A copy of the order has been marked to the deputy commissioner of police concerned for necessary arrangements to maintain law and order during the takeover.
No office bearer of the club could be reached for comment.
The land at Safdarjung Road was originally leased for the specific purpose of maintaining a social and sporting club. The club was allotted the plot in 1928 on a perpetual lease.
The order is the latest in a series of land resumption actions by the L&DO in central Delhi.
In March, the office sealed the premises of news agency United News of India at 9, Rafi Marg after the Delhi high court upheld the cancellation of its land allotment on technicalities of the lease conditions. Around the same time, the L&DO issued eviction notices to slum clusters near the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, formerly Race Course Road, citing security concerns.
The L&DO administers 60,526 residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional leases covering 19,995 acres — 5.5% of Delhi’s total land area — spanning prime localities within the Lutyens Bungalow Zone, including Chanakya Puri, Jor Bagh, Golf Links, Sunder Nagar, and Connaught Place, as well as rehabilitation colonies. Of these, 1,430 are institutional properties.
