Overview
- The Delhi High Court on Monday sharply criticised the Centre’s eviction notices for Lutyens’ properties and directed the Patiala House trial court to decide the Indian Polo Association’s stay application by June 10.
- The government has issued notices through the Land & Development Office, including a May 20 eviction order for the 15.20‑acre Jaipur Polo Ground and a May 22 direction for the Delhi Gymkhana Club to vacate its 27.3 acres, while notices to the Delhi Race Club date to March 12.
- Central Government counsel Ashish Dixit told the court the land is needed for defence, public security and governance uses and said immediate forcible eviction was not expected this week.
- The court framed the dispute as a clash between government land needs and protection of century‑old heritage and scarce open space, warning that losing these parcels would worsen pollution and remove one of the capital’s few ‘breathers’.
- What to watch next: the Patiala House ruling on the Polo stay by June 10, continued High Court and trial‑court suits over Gymkhana and the Race Club, and any government explanation of the specific public‑purpose plans for the sites.