Guindy race course land row: Won't stop govt from digging up golf course, HC tells Madras Gymkhana Club
Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy observed, “The plea holds no merit as the petitioner is not the original lessee nor is it in possession of the subject land, hence, no prior notice is necessary to restore the land.”
Madras High Court
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of the Madras Gymkhana Club (MGC) stating that it holds no possession rights to seek directions to restrain the State from causing further damage or taking over the golf club located within the premises of the Madras Race Club (MRC) at Guindy.
Dismissing the MGC’s petition, Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy observed, “The plea holds no merit as the petitioner is not the original lessee nor is it in possession of the subject land, hence, no prior notice is necessary to restore the land.”
The case pertains to the legal battle over land access and possession that ensued after the Tamil Nadu government revoked the 99-year lease agreement signed in 1945 with the sprawling Madras Race Club, citing alleged violations. The State is now in the process of converting 118 acres of the 160.86-acre race club land into an eco-park.
The petitioner submitted that in 1887, the Madras Gymkhana Club had established a golf course surrounded by horse race tracks on the MRC premises at Guindy. Without any notice or intimation, the State closed the entrance of the golf course and prematurely terminated a 99-year-long lease entered between the State and the MRC with respect to the 160.86 acres of land at Guindy, said the petitioner.
On October 4, 2024, revenue department officials had dug up the golf course within the MRC with an earth mover and bulldozers, citing disaster management as the reason, as sidewalks were getting flooded during rains. The petitioner alleged that it had cost the club Rs 50 lakh to repair the damage caused.
Further, it was contended that no opportunity was given to the MGC even though they maintained the golf course for the past 147 years. Hence, it sought to restrain the State from digging up the land further, seeking to maintain the status quo. If the State is allowed to proceed further, my client's rights will be completely destroyed, the club's lawyer contended.
On behalf of the State, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran and special government pleader A Selvendran objected to the plea. The AAG questioned the locus standi and maintainability of the petitioner as the land was leased out only to the Madras Race Club. Since the lease agreement was terminated and the land was taken into possession, the petitioner cannot claim any right to stall the process, said the AAG.
On October 19, 2024, Justice RMT Teekaa Raman had dismissed the plea of the MGC seeking to dispense with the issuance of a pre-suit notice to restrain the State from damaging and taking possession of the golf course as he couldn't find any jural relationship between Madras Race Club, the original lessee of the land, and the Madras Gymkhana Club. Hence, there is no locus standi in the petition, he held.
