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Private members, govt tussle over Delhi Gymkhana membership

Under existing rules, 50% of the club's membership has been reserved for government officers and the rest under the non-government category

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Private members of the Delhi Gymkhana are up in arms against the elite club's management committee, protesting the rise in issuance of permanent memberships to dependents of government officers. The private members claim these dependents have been given out-of-turn permanent memberships ahead of applicants who applied under the non-government quota.

Petitioner Alok Mehndiratta has alleged in a civil suit filed at the Patiala House court that the Gymkhana has been granting out-of-turn permanent memberships to UCPs, a term used by the club to refer to adult children of existing members. The so-called UCPs, having used the club as a dependant prior to the age of 21, can obtain continued use of the club under Article 13(3b) on applying for permanent membership upon turning 21.

"I decline to comment since the matter is subjudice in court," said H Sassan, secretary, Delhi Gymkhana.

Under existing rules, 50 per cent of the club's membership has been reserved for government officers (class 1 officers) and the rest under the non-government category. Membership of the more than a century-old club, which is spread over 27 acres of prime land in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, is a prized status marker in the national capital. Applicants must often wait for years before they get a chance at getting the coveted card.

One of the petitioners in a seven-member representative action suit filed with the Delhi High Court waited for 36 years before the Gym accepted him as a member. By then, any facilities his dependents could have availed had lapsed.

Established in 1913, the Delhi Gymkhana shares its boundary with the Prime Minister's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence. The average waiting period for membership is estimated, conservatively, at 50 years.

Filling up spots that open up is decided during the annual general body meeting. The Gymkhana has a capacity of 5,200 members. But according to a white paper, a 10-page document that lists several irregularities in the granting of memberships, the Gymkhana currently has 2305 UCPs and about 4925 green card holders.

Under Section 36 of the Companies Act, the Articles of Association (AOA) bind the company and each member to the same extent, meaning that each member has equal rights and are equally liable.

According to Mehndiratta's civil suit filed at Patiala House Court earlier this year, Article 4(1) of the club's rules says, "There shall be the following classes of members' namely - Permanent, Garrison, Temporary, Casual, and Special Category Members."

The petition further states, "Thus, it is evident that there is there is no separate category of UCP membership. Despite this, the club has been granting memberships as if UCP is defined category of membership in the AOA. In fact, the club has itself recorded in the Minutes of General Committee Meeting dated November 7, 2013, that no application for memberships would be taken up of a category, which did not find explicit mention in the AOA. In spite of this admitted position, the club continues to grant memberships to UCPs out of turn, as a separate category of memberships – contrary to the AOA."

A person familiar with the representative action suit told dna that by "granting UCPs to favourable candidates, the gym is attempting to build a dynastic atmosphere".

While the civil suit at Patiala House will next be heard on October 22, the representative action suit in the HC will be heard in February 2017.

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