New Delhi: The Central Government has issued a decisive eviction directive to the Delhi Gymkhana Club, ordering the elite institution to completely hand over its sprawling 27.3-acre premises at 2, Safdarjung Road by June 5, 2026. The high-profile order, issued by the Land and Development Office under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, effectively terminates the colonial-era lease by citing critical national security obligations, public interest considerations, and the urgent expansion of nearby federal infrastructure.
According to the official communication sent to the club management, the sprawling property sits squarely within a highly sensitive and strategic zone of the national capital, situated adjacent to the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. The government explicitly noted that the prime land package is critically required for the strengthening and securing of national defence infrastructure, alongside vital public-interest governance projects. The Land and Development Office stated that the resumption is being integrated with the redevelopment of adjoining government land parcels, following recent administrative clearances in the high-security Lutyens’ Delhi sector.
To execute the immediate takeover, the Centre invoked Clause 4 of the historical lease deed, a regulatory provision that explicitly empowers the lessor to re-enter the premises and terminate the agreement if the underlying land is deemed necessary for an overriding public purpose. Acting under these executive powers, the President of India formally determined the lease, mandating that the entire acreage—including all heritage buildings, standing structures, manicured lawns, and structural fittings—shall vest absolutely back with the central government. The directive warned that if the management fails to peacefully yield the premises by the stipulated June 5 deadline, enforcement authorities will proceed with a forceful takeover in accordance with local land laws.
The drastic regulatory escalation has revived long-simmering frictions between federal ministries and the exclusive club, which has long served as a prestigious social hub for India’s bureaucratic, military, and political elite since its founding as the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club in 1913. While the club has previously successfully litigated management interventions and environmental disputes before corporate tribunals and green benches, this latest order marks the most severe structural challenge to its physical existence. In response to the eviction notice, the club’s governing body immediately convened a closed-door emergency meeting on Saturday evening to analyze the lease termination and deliberate on potential legal counter-strategies to halt the impending eviction. In an unrelated local political development, Aam Aadmi Party National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann conducted a sudden high-profile visit to the Bhondsi District Jail in Gurugram on Saturday afternoon to meet with jailed AAP MP Sanjeev Arora, who currently remains in judicial custody pending a federal financial investigation.
