New Delhi, Delhi High Court judge Justice Prateek Jalan on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a lawsuit over the Centre’s proceedings against the Delhi Gymkhana Club for its eviction from the 27.3-acre premises on Safdarjung Road here.
“I am going to recuse from this matter. The lawsuit filed by the Gymkhana staff has said they are cooks, waiters, kitchen and housekeeping staff, gardeners and groundsmen, electricians and plumbers, lifeguards, security personnel etc. working in the club and sought the protection of their source of livelihood as well as fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. Seeking to quash the Centre’s May 22 notice, their plea said Delhi Gymkhana Club was not a place of leisure for them but their place of work.
There are matters where one does not trust one’s own judgement,” Justice Jalan said. Gymkhana member Vijay Khurana and Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd Staff Welfare Association have filed separate lawsuits against the Land and Development Office ‘s May 22 order terminating the colonial-era club’s perpetual lease deed and asking it to return its land by June 5 on grounds of “strengthening and securing defence infrastructure”. It had said that third parties cannot restrain the enforcement of rights arising from the now-determined lease deed between the authorities and the club for the land parcel. The application said the show-cause notice was “pre-mature” as it wrongly presumed that the Gymkhana Club’s perpetual lease was validly terminated.PTI ADS DV
Justice Jalan directed that the lawsuit by the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd Staff Welfare Association be listed before another bench on Friday.
