The Delhi High Court on Tuesday demanded the Centre’s response regarding compensation claims by the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) over the acquisition of part of its property for the construction of an “integrated transit corridor.” The bench, consisting of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma, has directed the authorities to provide a detailed affidavit outlining the compensation and interest due to the club.
The issue centers on an 8,261.81 square meter section of the NSCI’s premises, which is being taken over for the development of a new transit route along Mathura Road and Purana Qila Road. The NSCI, through its advocate Hasan Murtaza, has pressed the Ministry of Urban Development to finalize the compensation, invoking the provisions of the perpetual lease deed and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Despite the club’s initial request to the land and development officer in 2019 for a swift determination of the compensation, there has been no action from the authorities to date. The club’s grounds are part of a perpetually leased land measuring 8.6 acres, granted by the President of India on June 27, 1956, at a location crucial to the proposed corridor project.
The club’s plea also referenced a Supreme Court ruling which asserted that compensation is warranted for leasehold rights or interests when land is acquired for public purposes under a perpetual lease. This legal backdrop sets the stage for a significant assessment of how compensation should be calculated and granted in such cases.
