New Delhi, Jun 15 The Delhi High Court on Monday turned down the Indian Polo Association's request to direct a status quo with respect to the Centre's move to take possession of the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Ground in the Race Course area.
A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia nonetheless asked a sessions court here to decide on merits the Association's appeal against the eviction order as well as the application for an interim stay.
The Association's senior counsel submitted that the sessions court was scheduled to take up the matter on June 17 and urged the court to direct status quo till then.
"If they start digging the ground, years of work would go," he submitted.
"No. We can't decide on merit. Argue before the appellate authority," Justice Karia responded.
The vacation bench was hearing the Association's petition challenging a June 12 order of an additional sessions judge -- acting as an appellate authority-- to the extent that it did not decide on that day the issue of stay of the Estate Officer's May 20 eviction order.
The case came up for hearing after the Association's counsel mentioned it for urgent listing.
The Association's senior counsel contended that the appellate authority should decide its plea without being influenced by earlier court orders refusing to interfere with the eviction order.
The vacation bench of the high court asked the appellate authority to decide the interim application and the appeal on merits, without being influenced by the earlier orders.
On June 12, Additional Sessions Judge Dhirender Rana had declined to grant interim protection to the Indian Polo Association (IPA) against the Centre's order directing it to vacate the ground.
The officials of the Land and Development Office under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry took physical possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground the next day.
IPA filed a plea in the lower court under Section 9(3) of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, seeking a stay on the enforcement and execution of the eviction order by the central government.
In its order, the sessions court had said, "A similar kind of request was moved before the Learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, PHC and Delhi High Court, and no relief was granted to the appellant. Therefore, keeping in view judicial discipline and propriety, I am not inclined to stay the execution of the impugned order even till next date".
It had, however, directed the Union government to file replies to the appeal and the stay application and listed the matter before the vacation judge on June 17.
The IPA has termed the eviction "wrongful, arbitrary and contrary to law," and said it would pursue all available legal remedies to safeguard its rights and interests.
On June 8, a vacation bench had asked the lower court to forthwith decide IPA's plea seeking a stay on the government notice to evict them from the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Ground.
