Delhi High Court judge Justice Prateek Jalan on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a case over the Centre’s proceedings against the Delhi Gymkhana Club for its eviction from the 27.3-acre premises on Safdarjung Road here.
Justice Jalan directed that the lawsuit by the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd Staff Welfare Association be listed before another bench on Friday. Khurana’s lawsuit is stated to be supported by more than 500 club members. The lawsuit filed by the Gymkhana staff has said they are cooks, waiters, kitchen and housekeeping staff, gardeners and groundsmen, electricians and plumbers, lifeguards, security personnel etc., working in the club and sought the protection of their source of livelihood as well as fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution.
Khurana has submitted in his lawsuit that the “vague” and “generalised” reasons of defence infrastructure and security given by the Centre were just a “sham”. In his interim application, Khurana has said the June 29 notice proceeds on “entirely erroneous and premature assumptions”, which strike at the substratum of their pending lawsuit.
