Delhi HC to hear on July 9 Indian Polo Association’s plea over eviction from Jaipur Polo Ground
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar adjourned the hearing in the matter after stating that a copy of the sessions court’s order was not yet available to the parties.
Allaying the petitioner’s senior counsel’s concerns about digging up the polo turf, the Centre’s counsel assured that there would be no such change in the meantime.
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“You already have the possession. Therefore, you are in no hurry to tear it up now,” Justice Shankar told the Centre’s lawyer.
“I made this statement on June 29 as well that we will not do anything,” responded central government advisor Ashish Dixit.
Dixit had told a holiday bench on June 29 that the boundaries of the polo field had been drawn to raise the boundary and nothing had been done on the grass area where the sport was played. On Wednesday, senior advocate Kirtiman Singh, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, argued that the challenge against the eviction order will come up for hearing in the sessions court on July 23 and sought a direction to the authorities not to “destroy” the polo ground until it is heard.
“My request today is to hold their hands and not destroy the lawn until the case is heard. The property is in their hands. Do not destroy the lawn until the case is heard, because this will cause irreparable injury,” he said.
While the court put the matter up for hearing on July 9, Singh also requested the central government lawyer to allow the petitioner to inspect the polo ground.
The judge said, “We do not give any orders. You ask him.”
In its petition, the Polo Association of India attacked the June 18 order of the sessions court acting as the appellate authority under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, rejecting the interim application seeking restoration of possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground, stay and enforcement of the May 20 eviction order and a restriction against demolition, dismantling, excavation, disturbance or alteration of the Jaipur Polo Ground.
The petitioner had requested reasonable access for the routine maintenance, preservation and maintenance of the polo turf and associated sports infrastructure.
In the petition, it was stated that the rejection of the plaintiff’s provisional application was ex facie wrong.
He said the authorities had already taken possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground during the appeal and had started “irreversible activities” such as digging, uprooting and other physical changes to the land and turf, which would render it unproductive.
“Jaipur Polo Ground is a private sports facility and not an ordinary wasteland. The turf field requires constant mowing, watering, leveling, aeration, rolling, grass cover management, weed control and maintenance by trained ground staff,” the plea said. The statement was included.
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“Any excavation, excavation, construction activity, interruption of irrigation, removal of turf cover, compaction by heavy machinery or leveling without turf control will cause irreversible damage to the ground, permanently deteriorate the facilities as a polo field and defeat the subject of the appeal,” the defense said.
