Delhi HC permits officers of Central Secretariat Club to collect belongings after eviction

New Delhi, The Delhi High Court has permitted the evicted management of the Central Secretariat Club to collect its belongings and other items from its premises in the President's Estate area.

Justice Amit Mahajan asked the central government authorities to facilitate the collection by two office bearers of the club within two weeks.

The court passed the order on a petition by the club, formerly known as Talkatora Club, against the revocation of its recognition and a subsequent eviction order by the Estate Officer, asking it to immediately vacate its present premises.

The authorities took control of the property during the pendency of the plea.

During a hearing on October 7, the petitioner's counsel sought permission from the court to access the club to retrieve certain belongings and documents.

"The respondents are directed to permit two officers of the petitioner to visit the subject premises and collect all their belongings and other items, the list of which shall be provided to the respondents after visiting the property," the court ordered.

"After the list is provided, the respondents shall take steps for facilitating the collection of those goods / items by the petitioner," it added.

On August 13, the high court sought the Centre's stand on the club's petition but refused to direct a status quo in the matter.

In the petition, the club said that on July 14, the Department of Personnel and Training arbitrarily, illegally, and unconstitutionally withdrew the recognition granted to it.

The petitioner claimed that instead of taking corrective action on its complaints regarding irregularities during the term of the ad-hoc committee managing its affairs, the authorities first withdrew the recognition in February without issuing any show cause notice.

After the court's intervention, the petitioner was given a hearing and a fresh de-recognition order was passed on July 14.

"The impugned derecognition order dated 14.07.2026 and the impugned Eviction Order dated 17.07.2026 are ex facie arbitrary, malicious, unconstitutional, and constitute a brazen, colourable exercise of administrative power. The respondents are attempting to weaponize their own administrative failures and the misdeeds of their ad hoc committee to forcefully dispossess and extinguish a historic institution, in flagrant violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and the fundamental principles of natural justice," the petition contended.

The plea alleged that the eviction order arbitrarily treats a historic 107-year-old institution, which was given permanent occupancy, as an "unauthorised occupant", solely on the basis of the illegal cancellation of allotment.

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