Delhi Gymkhana club news: Members get ready for legal battle, start gathering signatures for urgent court petition

Delhi Gymkhana Club news highlights: An order to vacate the iconic Gymkhana Club of Delhi has sparked reactions. The order, signed by deputy land and development officer Suchit Goyal, describes the premises as falling within a “highly sensitive and strategic area” of the capital.

A view of Delhi Gymkhana Club in New Delhi, India on Saturday, May 23, 2026. ( (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times))

Delhi Gymkhana Club highlights: Delhi Gymkhana members prepare for legal battle, begin gathering signatures for urgent court petition....Read More

Follow all the updates here:

• 24 May 2026, 10:20:30 PM IST

  The live updates to the blog are closed.

  The live updates to the blog are closed.

• 24 May 2026, 06:30:19 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Delhi Gymkhana members prepare for legal battle

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Delhi Gymkhana members prepare for legal battle, begin gathering signatures for urgent court petition.

  HT has learnt that copies of a resolution signed by members are being collected as the club prepares for a legal battle.

• 24 May 2026, 05:27:00 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Delhi Gymkhana Club staff fear job loss after Centre asks club to vacate premises

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Anxiety and uncertainty have gripped employees of the iconic Delhi Gymkhana Club after the Centre directed the institution to vacate its premises by June 5, raising fears of job losses among workers who have served the club for decades.

  Nandan Singh Negi, president of the Gymkhana Employee Welfare Association, said staff members were informed about the Centre’s proposed takeover of the club premises on Saturday.

  "We were told about the development yesterday. Staff members have been calling me throughout the night, asking what will happen to them and where they will go," Negi said.

• 24 May 2026, 02:58:19 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: AAP MP Sanjay Singh blames PM Modi for fuel crisis, slams Centre over Gymkhana Club move

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh criticised the Centre over its alleged attempt to take control of the Gymkhana Club, claiming the government was focused on “grabbing land” and handing prime properties to its associates under the pretext of security.

  “The government’s attempt to occupy the Gymkhana Club shows that its focus is only on grabbing land and giving expensive properties to its friends in the name of security. The government has no policy aimed at improving the welfare of the people,” he said.

• 24 May 2026, 01:20:30 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: ‘Employees in despair, worried about families’, says staff body president Nandan Singh

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Gymkhana Employee Welfare Association President Nandan Singh Negi said, "Employees in despair, worried about families."

  This comes after Central government ordered Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its 27.3-acre premises at 2, Safdarjung Road to the Land & Development Office (L&DO) by June 5.

• 24 May 2026, 01:03:31 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: ‘Matter of great shame’, says Gymkhana Club member Nitin Verma, questions government decision on club premises

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Delhi Gymkhana Club member Nitin Verma on Sunday strongly criticised the government’s decision regarding the club premises, calling the move “a matter of great shame” and questioning the rationale behind it, news agency ANI reported.

  The Centre has ordered the re-entry and resumption of the Delhi Gymkhana Club land at Safdarjung Road in New Delhi, citing public purpose, defence infrastructure and national security considerations. Authorities have directed the club to hand over possession of the property by June 5, 2026.

  Objecting to the decision, Verma questioned the grounds on which the order was issued and alleged that the move lacked justification.

  Speaking to ANI, he said, “It is a matter of great shame that... you want to just close down on fictitious grounds. I don't think there is anything which needs to be done. For so many years this club has existed, and it has been a prominent landmark. I think this is a matter of great shame, and this must be laid down...”

• 24 May 2026, 12:51:52 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: ‘Long-overdue correction’, says Shiv Sena leader Dr Abhishek Verma

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Shiv Sena leader Dr Abhishek Verma said the move was not merely an administrative decision, but a "long-overdue correction of Delhi’s most entitled drawing-room ecosystem."

  Drawing a personal note, he said, "My family lived for nearly 27 to 30 years right opposite the Gymkhana Club, at the Government bungalow, 4 Safdarjung Lane. My late father Shrikant Verma and my late mother Veena Verma were both Members of Parliament, and yet neither they nor I ever found this sick place worthy of becoming members."

• 24 May 2026, 12:44:48 PM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Mixed reactions pour in over notice to vacate iconic Delhi Gymkhana Club

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Kiren Bedi made a case in favour of The Delhi Gymkhana Club, saying it was not just property, but institutional and sporting heritage.

  Calling the move "unfortunate and tragic", the former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry said the club hosted some of the finest tennis matches, and carries “so much history, so many memories, and generations of sporting excellence are associated with this place.”

  Congress leader Udit Raj called hit out at the Centre over the closing of the club and said it was a "very sad news". "The Delhi Gymkhana Club is not just a club, it's historic. It doesn't happen like this in any country. It is more than 100 years old. But it is the desire of the King. The King wants that there should be no Gymkhana Club near his residence."

  Meanwhile, Historian Swapna Liddle argued that though the club started for elite British officials, it evolved with time admitting Indian members. While it cannot be denied that the institution was elitist, she said, the need should be to look into “how you can change it, and make it meaningful for more people.”

• 24 May 2026, 11:51:20 AM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Delhi Gymkhana Club to write to L&DO seeking clarity on handover order

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: The Delhi Gymkhana Club has said that it will write to the Land and Development Office seeking clarity on several issues after the Centre asked the club to hand over its premises by June 5.

  In an official communication to its members, the club said the Centre has asked it to hand over its premises in Lutyens' Delhi to "strengthen and secure defence infrastructure" and for other public security purposes.

  The club said it received the notice on May 22 from the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, seeking "re-entry and resumption" of the 27.3-acre land parcel, which is located on 2, Safdarjung Road, adjacent to the prime minister's residence on Lok Kalyan Marg.

  "Pursuant to the sudden development, the Gymkhana Club met today on an urgent basis and after detailed deliberation decided to file an immediate response to the L&DO requesting clarity on several issues in the interest of the members and employees of the club," it said.

  -PTI

• 24 May 2026, 11:50:32 AM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: ‘If you send it elsewhere…’: After a century of power, Delhi Gymkhana Club ordered to vacate

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: In the geography of Delhi power, few addresses have carried the weight of 2, Safdarjung Road. For over a century, the Delhi Gymkhana Club’s 27.3 acres — a perpetual lease in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, flanked by the country’s most sensitive government establishments — served as the capital’s most enduring informal institution: the place where those who ran India came, after hours, to be among their own.

  “For many people, elderly people who spent all their lives here, it has become a home — it’s like a temple,” said AS Dulat, who lead the Research and Analysis Wing and subsequently served as Prime Minister’s advisor on Kashmir.

  A former president of the club, he was unsparing on the question of relocation: “There is no compensation or compromise on this. Either you have a club or you don’t have a club. Most people who come to the club are within walking distance. If you send the Gymkhana Club elsewhere, it will not remain the Delhi Gymkhana.”

  He pointed to its sporting legacy. “The national tennis championships have been held there, the Davis Cup has been held there, all the great Indian tennis players trained there. Now you want to shut it down, you can shut it down.”

• 24 May 2026, 11:49:26 AM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: If the club fails to comply, possession will be taken in accordance to the law

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Upon re-entry, the entire plot, along with all buildings, standing erections, structures, lawns, and fittings, shall vest absolutely with the President of India. Should the club fail to comply by the deadline, possession will be taken in accordance with law, the order sent to the club’s secretary added.

  A copy of the order has been marked to the deputy commissioner of police concerned for necessary arrangements to maintain law and order during the takeover.

• 24 May 2026, 11:37:03 AM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Friday’s order culmination of governance dispute building for years

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Nestled in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, the Delhi Gymkhana Club stands adjacent to the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. The club was founded in 1913 as the Imerial Delhi Gymkhana Club, renamed after Independence, and is today among the country’s oldest elite institutional clubs.

  Friday’s order is the culmination of a governance dispute that has been building for years: in April 2022, the National Company Law Tribunal allowed the ministry of corporate affairs to nominate directors to the club’s general committee, citing mismanagement.

• 24 May 2026, 11:25:38 AM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Members seek urgent meeting with Housing ministry; write to L&DO seeking clarity

  The Delhi Gymkhana Club on Saturday informed its members through a notice that it had sought an urgent meeting with officials from the ministry of housing and urban affairs to ensure uninterrupted functioning of the club.

  The club added that it will write to the Land and Development Office seeking clarity on several issues, news agency PTI reported.

• 24 May 2026, 11:05:04 AM IST

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: Union government orders Delhi Gymkhana Club handover by June 5

  Delhi Gymkhana Club Live updates: The Union government on Friday ordered the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its 27.3-acre premises at 2, Safdarjung Road to the Land & Development Office (L&DO) by June 5, invoking a public purpose clause in the original lease deed.

  The order signed by deputy land and development officer Suchit Goyal, describes the premises as falling within a “highly sensitive and strategic area” of the capital and says they are critically required for strengthening defence infrastructure and public security purposes.