The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to restrain the Centre from carrying out excavation or digging work on the 15.2-acre Jaipur Polo Ground until July 1, observing that the government had already taken possession of the land earlier this month.The court had initially indicated that the matter would be listed before the roster bench after reopening on July 1. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)A vacation bench of justice Vinod Kumar said that since possession had already been taken on June 14, there was no question of granting interim protection against any proposed work on the site. “Once possession has been taken, there is no question of stay. If you succeed in the appeal, status quo ante will follow. I’m posting it for July 1 before the roster bench,” the court observed.The order came on a petition filed by the Indian Polo Association (IPA) challenging a June 18 trial court order that dismissed its plea seeking restoration of possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground and an injunction restraining the Centre from demolishing, uprooting, digging, disturbing or otherwise altering the ground.The court had initially indicated that the matter would be listed before the roster bench after reopening on July 1. However, senior advocate Kirtiman Singh, appearing for IPA, urged the court to restrain the government from carrying out digging work until then.Singh argued that any physical alteration of the turf during the pendency of IPA’s appeal against the May 20 eviction order passed under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act would effectively frustrate the appeal itself.Opposing the plea, counsel for the Centre, Ashish Dikshit, submitted that no excavation was currently taking place. According to the government, authorities were only demarcating the boundary between the polo ground and the adjoining golf course and no work was being undertaken on the 15.2-acre turf itself.In its petition, IPA had argued that the trial court’s order was erroneous as it failed to account for the fact that the subject matter of the appeal was being irreversibly altered. The association claimed that the Centre had already begun digging, uprooting and carrying out other physical changes to the land, and contended that permitting such activities would render the appeal infructuous.The Jaipur Polo Ground is among a series of prominent properties that the Centre has sought to reclaim in recent months, following action involving the United News of India (UNI) premises and the Delhi Gymkhana Club, both located on government-owned land in central Delhi.While government authorities have maintained that the land is required for public purposes and strategic needs, occupants have argued that these institutions serve important sporting, social and heritage functions and should not be treated as ordinary leasehold assets.The matter will now be heard on July 1 before the roster bench.