Sujan Singh Park North: Real Estate Firm Challenges Centre’s Eviction Notice

The British Indian government had given the 7.58-acre land on perpetual lease to the company in 1945 to construct 100 flats. (Image enhanced using AI)

Appearing before the Estate Officer of the Union government’s Land and Development Office (L&DO) on Friday, the real estate firm that runs the prime residential and commercial complex in New Delhi, Sujan Singh Park North, challenged the Centre’s eviction notice. The firm, Sir Sobha Singh and Sons Pvt. Ltd., argued that it has not breached the lease agreement.

The Estate Officer had issued an eviction notice on June 11 under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, to the real estate firm. The notice stated that the company had breached the 1945 lease and the lease had been “re-entered,” or terminated, in 1960. Since then, the notice claimed, the company has been in unauthorized occupation of the property, which includes residential flats and the Ambassador Hotel.

The company was asked to appear before the Estate Officer on Friday. In the representation to the Estate Officer, the company’s general manager, Col. S. P. Sharma (retired), argued that the re-entry in 1960 was “invalid and inoperative.” He added that there was “no breach, no valid notice, or opportunity to remedy, no permission of the Chief Commissioner, and no possession was ever taken.”

Advocate Shaunak Kashyap, representing Sir Sobha Singh and Sons, said the government had alleged that the lease was breached by the construction of the Hotel Block and laundry block. “We led copious evidence over 108 exhibits, sanction maps, interrogatories, and evidence to establish it was built with their sanction and active participation,” he said.

The firm also submitted a map sanctioned by the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) in 1951 that included the hotel block. The next hearing before the Estate Officer is scheduled for July 3.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) did not respond to a request by The Indian Express for comment on Friday’s proceedings.

The British Indian government had given the 7.58-acre land on perpetual lease to the company in 1945 to construct 100 flats. During World War II, the flats were to be used by the government to house military officials. After the war, the government was to give 50% of the flats to the company, while retaining 50% for its own officials. Legal disputes over breaches and payment of ground rent have been ongoing between the two parties for decades. On April 30, the L&DO issued a demand notice seeking Rs. 940 crore in payment for breach of lease conditions.