India
Supreme Court Demands Delhi Golf Club Clarify Membership Selection Process
The Supreme Court ordered the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) to disclose the procedures it uses to select members within a week. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the club’s previous response, describing it as a “maze of documents.” Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and N Kotiswar Singh said, “We made it clear that we need to know what are the modalities for providing membership to the club for all categories and the fee structure. Do you want us to go through a maze of documents? Is this your understanding of this court’s order? If so, it is very unfortunate… We are not happy with the affidavit filed by the club. It had to give details of the procedure followed for grant of membership.” The matter was scheduled for a hearing on October 15. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the club, said he would file a concise affidavit with the required details. On August 24, the court had asked DGC to record the relevant rules, byelaws, modalities, procedures and practices for granting membership to all categories. The enquiry arose during hearings on a petition by Delhi resident Rajiv Suri concerning the upkeep of heritage structures. The court has previously criticized the club for failing to maintain ten heritage structures within its boundaries, including an early Mughal tomb, Mir Taqi’s tomb, the Tomb of Syed Abid, a gateway, and the Barah Khamba of the Tughlaq era. Court commissioners—senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Nipun Saxena and Vishal Sinha—inspected the site and found several facilities near the monuments lacking mandatory protective labels. The Lal Bangla I and II, dating to 1779‑80 AD and located near the club entrance, are centrally protected structures managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Following the commissioners’ report, the court on May 27 prohibited any activity within a 100‑metre zone around the two centrally protected structures and restricted public access to the remaining monuments. The club stated that the restoration of the monuments had been handed over to the Aga Khan Trust. In July, the bench expressed serious concern over lime plaster used in the restoration that covered intricate designs on the monuments. In February, petitioner Suri submitted a 2021 INTACH report listing 1,100 notified heritage sites in Delhi, prompting the court to seek responses from the ASI, Delhi government, MCD and NDMC and to recommend remedial steps for restoring their condition. Suri’s initiative also led to the restoration and protection declaration of a Lodi‑era monument in Defence Colony by the Delhi government’s Archaeology department.