CURRENT AFFAIRS | 27 MAY 2026
The Delhi High Court has declined to grant any interim relief to the Delhi Gymkhana Club against the Centre’s 22 May 2026 re-entry notice, with a Division Bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Tushar Rao Gedela calling the challenge “premature and presumptive”. The Land & Development Office (L&DO), under MoHUA, has invoked Clause 4 of the 1928 perpetual lease deed and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The Club has wheeled in Singhvi, Sibal and Dev to argue Article 300A, Article 14 and the vagueness doctrine.
Constitutional Framework
- Article 300A: “No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law” — a constitutional, not fundamental, right post 44th Amendment (1978).
- Article 14: Arbitrariness ground — the Club calls the notice vague and procedurally infirm.
- PPE Act, 1971: Empowers the Estate Officer to issue show-cause and evict unauthorised occupants of central government premises.
- Section 9, PPE Act: Appeal lies to the District Judge against the Estate Officer’s order.
- K T Plantation v State of Karnataka (2011): Deprivation under Article 300A must be by just, fair and reasonable law.
Key Facts
| Site | 27 acres in Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone |
| Lease | Perpetual lease deed, 1928 — Clause 4 invoked for re-entry |
| Govt notice | 22 May 2026, L&DO (MoHUA) |
| Govt counsel | SG Tushar Mehta |
| Club counsel | A M Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Atul Dev |
| Next hearing | July 2026 (3 connected suits) |
CLAT Angle
Pure CLAT 2027 territory: Article 300A (right to property — moved out of Part III in 1978), PPE Act 1971 procedure, and the doctrine of perpetual lease covenants. Watch for Legal Reasoning principles using the K T Plantation test of “just, fair and reasonable law” and Article 14 arbitrariness.
Memory Hook
“1928 lease + 1971 Act = 2026 eviction” — three dates, one chain. Property right under 300A is constitutional; the PPE Act is the procedural sword; Article 14 is the shield the Club is wielding.
Why CLAT Matters
This dispute is the most prominent Article 300A test of the decade and will set the tone for every government-vs-private-tenant standoff in Lutyens’ Delhi. A passage from the eventual judgement could ask CLAT aspirants to apply the just-fair-reasonable test or distinguish constitutional from fundamental rights. Master the 300A jurisprudence — it shows up at least once every cycle.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
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