The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the Centre’s response to a petition filed by the Central Secretariat Club against the withdrawal of its recognition. The club, formerly known as Talkatora Club, has also challenged an eviction order directing it to immediately vacate its premises in the President’s Estate.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice to the central government and asked it to file its reply to the petition. During the hearing, senior counsel for the club asked the court to order status quo, saying that “nothing would be left” if protection was not granted. Declining the request, Justice Sharma said, “I don’t think so. List on August 24.”
In its petition, the club said the Department of Personnel and Training had on July 14 arbitrarily, illegally and unconstitutionally withdrawn the recognition granted to it. It said that instead of acting on its complaints about irregularities during the tenure of the ad hoc committee managing its affairs, the authorities had first withdrawn its recognition in February without issuing any show-cause notice.
The petition said that after the High Court intervened, the club was given a hearing, following which a fresh de-recognition order was passed on July 14. It argued that the July 14 de-recognition order and the July 17 eviction order were “ex facie arbitrary, malicious, unconstitutional, and constitute a brazen, colourable exercise of administrative power”.
The club further contended, “The Respondents are attempting to weaponise 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 plea also alleged that the eviction order arbitrarily treats the 107-year-old institution, which it said had been given permanent occupancy, as an “unauthorised occupant” solely on the basis of what it called an illegal cancellation of allotment. The matter will next be heard on August 24.
– Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 13, 2026 19:14 IST
