HC to hear on July 9 Indian Polo Association’s plea over eviction from Jaipur Polo Ground

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday listed for hearing on July 9 the Indian Polo Association’s petition against a sessions court’s decision refusing to stay the Centre’s May 20 order evicting it from the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Ground here.

Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar deferred hearing in the matter after noting that a copy of the sessions court’s decision was not available with the parties yet.

Allaying the petitioner’s senior counsel’s concerns over digging up the polo turf, the Centre’s lawyer assured that no such alteration would happen in the meantime.

“You are anyway in possession. Therefore, there is no hurry to tear it up right now,” Justice Shankar told the Centre’s lawyer.

“On 29th (June) also, I made this statement that we are not going to do anything,” central government counsel Ashish Dixit responded.

Dixit had told a vacation bench on June 29 that the polo ground was being demarcated for raising a boundary and nothing was being done on the turf where the sport is played.

On Wednesday, senior advocate Kirtiman Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the appeal against the eviction order was coming up for hearing before the sessions court on July 23 and sought a direction to the authorities not to “destroy” the polo ground till it is heard.

“Request today is, if they can hold their hand and not spoil the turf till the matter is heard. They have possession of the property. Till the matter is heard, don’t destroy the turf because that will cause irreparable (injury),” he submitted.

As the court listed the matter for hearing on July 9, Singh also requested the central government counsel to let the petitioner inspect the polo ground.

“We are not passing any order. You ask him,” the judge said.

In its petition, the Indian Polo Association has assailed a June 18 order of the sessions court, which acts as the appellate authority under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, rejecting its interim application seeking restoration of possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground, stay of enforcement and execution of the May 20 eviction order and a restraint against demolition, uprooting, digging, disturbing or altering the Jaipur Polo Ground.

The petitioner had sought reasonable access for routine maintenance, preservation and upkeep of the polo turf and associated sporting infrastructure.

The petition has stated that the rejection of the petitioner’s interim application was ex facie erroneous.

It has said the authorities have already taken possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground during pendency of the appeal and commenced “irreversible activities” like digging, uprooting and other physical alterations of the land and turf, which would render the matter infructuous.

“The Jaipur Polo Ground is a specialised sporting facility and not ordinary vacant land. Its turf requires continuous mowing, irrigation, levelling, aeration, rolling, grass-cover management, weed control and upkeep by trained ground staff,” the plea stated.

“Any excavation, digging, construction activity, disruption of irrigation, uprooting of grass cover, compaction by heavy machinery, or levelling without turf supervision will cause irreversible damage to the ground, permanently impair the premises as a polo ground and defeat the subject matter of the appeal,” the plea submitted.