The Centre has asked the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its 27.3-acre premises at 2, Safdarjung Road in Lutyens’ Delhi by June 5, citing the need to strengthen defence infrastructure and meet urgent public-interest requirements.

The order, issued on May 22 by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, initiated the “re-entry and resumption” of the club premises, stating that the land falls within a “highly sensitive and strategic area” of the national capital.

“The premises shall be taken over by the Land & Development Office on June 5,” the order stated.

According to the L&DO, the land is “critically required for strengthening and securing of Defence infrastructure and other vital public security purposes.”

“The land is essential to fulfil urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure, and public-interest projects, integrated with the resumption of adjoining government lands,” the order said, referring to the recent removal of slums from the nearby Race Course Road area.

Invoking Clause 4 of the lease deed, the government said the lessor has the authority to re-enter the premises and terminate the lease if the property is required for a public purpose.

Exercising these powers, the President of India, acting through the L&DO, determined the lease and ordered immediate re-entry of the property.

The order stated that the entire 27.3-acre plot, including all buildings, structures, lawns and fittings, “shall vest absolutely with the President of India through the Land & Development Office.”

The Delhi Gymkhana Club has been directed to hand over peaceful possession of the property to government representatives on or before June 5, “failing which possession shall be taken in accordance with law”.

The club has operated from the location since 1913, when it was known as the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club. After Independence in 1947, it was renamed the Delhi Gymkhana Club.

Regarded as one of India’s oldest and most prominent clubs, the institution traces its origins to July 1913. Spencer Harcourt Butler served as its first president, while the present buildings at the site were constructed in the 1930s.