The Delhi High Court issued notice on a plea filed by the Central Secretariat Club challenging the Union Government’s decision to withdraw its recognition and evict it from its premises.
The Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma sought a response from the Central Government and directed that a short reply be filed in the matter. During the hearing, advocate Kapur argued that the derecognition order was legally unsustainable and perverse. She submitted that the order was passed without prior notice to the Club and was followed by an eviction notice.
Kapur sought an interim direction to maintain status quo. However, the Court confined itself to issuing notice and listed the matter for further hearing on August 24. The plea seeks quashing of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) derecognition order dated July 14 and the Estate Officer’s eviction order dated July 17.
According to the Club, the impugned orders resulted in the authority’s taking possession of its premises on July 21. The petition describes the Central Secretariat Club, formerly known as the Talkatora Club, as a 107-year-old institution established in 1919, and contends that the derecognition and eviction orders are arbitrary and unconstitutional.
The Club states that the dispute arose after the DoPT constituted an ad hoc administrative committee in March 2023 to conduct elections for a period of two months. However, according to the plea, the committee continued for nearly two years, allegedly exceeded its mandate and was responsible for several financial and administrative irregularities.
The alleged irregularities include delayed GST filings, non-payment of statutory dues, irregularities in bar operations, failure to maintain statutory records, non-filing of tax returns, illegal payments, arbitrary suspension of employees and deletion of members during a verification exercise.
The Club has alleged that instead of addressing these “severe grievances”, the Centre attempted to bypass due process by issuing an “arbitrary Office Memorandum” on February 24 withdrawing its recognition without issuing a show-cause notice or providing an opportunity of hearing.
The petition further alleges that the authorities are “attempting to weaponize” their own administrative failures and the alleged misconduct of the ad hoc committee to “forcefully dispossess and extinguish” the historic institution.
It contends that the impugned action violates Article 14 of the Constitution and the principles of natural justice.
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