Firm that runs Sujan Singh Park complex moves Delhi HC against breach of lease order

4 min readNew DelhiJun 19, 2026 04:47 AM IST

The court, which is working with vacation benches at present, also noted that there was no immediate urgency in the matter and posted it for hearing next on July 23, while issuing notice to the respondents.

Sir Sobha Singh and Sons, the real estate company that built and runs the Sujan Singh Park complex has moved Delhi High Court against a district court’s judgment that ruled that the northern part of the complex has been in breach of conditions of the lease agreement. Urging for an immediate stay on the district court’s verdict, the company on Wednesday cited the latest eviction notice issued by the government on June 11.

Part of the complex under the government takeover bid also includes the hotel, Ambassador, which is at the heart of the dispute. The government has termed the hotel as a breach of the lease conditions, thus making termination of the lease, or a ‘re-entry’ by the government over the property, valid.

Sir Sobha Singh and Sons, in their petition, has flagged the June 11 eviction notice under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, terming the company as ‘unauthorised occupant’ and seeking possession of the land, only two days after the trial court’s verdict, “troubling post-judgment chronology”.

“The operative order was pronounced on 09.06.2026 (by the district court). The reasons were signed and uploaded only on 12.06.2026 at 1753 hours. Yet a notice under the Public Premises Act, dated 11.06.2026, had already reproduced the judgment’s reasoning. The reasons were thus known to the government before they reached (Sir Sobha Singh and Sons), who had to apply to the court on 12.06.2026 for a copy. This itself is very serious and requires intervention,” their petition submits.

Heard by Justice Tejas Karia on Wednesday, the Centre, through its standing counsel Ashish Dixit, assured the court that “the proceedings under the PP Act shall be conducted without reference to or being influenced by the (district court’s judgment) and all the rights and contentions of the parties are reserved in that respect.”

Justice Karia, recording the statement in its order, directed the Centre that it is bound by its own statement, and also observed that no further direction of interim relief in favour of the petitioner, staying the district court’s judgment, is required. The court, which is working with vacation benches at present, also noted that there was no immediate urgency in the matter and posted it for hearing next on July 23, while issuing notice to the respondents.

Sir Sobha Singh and Sons has been locked in litigation with the government for nearly seven decades now, since 1960. Ambassador hotel started operating in 1950.

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According to the real estate firm, the northern block of Sujan Singh Park was built under a registered Agreement to Lease of October 8, 1945, with one of the clauses being the government will execute a perpetual lease with Sir Sobha Singh and Sons once the buildings were complete. Under the terms of the deed, the lessee, Sir Sobha Singh and Sons, was obligated to construct residential blocks, including three “for officials and non-officials of good standing”.

However, in 1960, the government alleging misuse and breaches, sought re-entry, that is termination of the agreement, following which Sir Sobha Singh and Sons had moved a civil court with a suit seeking injunction against such re-entry.

Among the breaches flagged were misuse of ground floor of one block as laundry and motor service station, misuse of 31 garages as petty shops and motor workshops, misuse of N Block by tenants New India Typewriter Company and Simla Hills Transport Co., and misuse of open spaces by Muni Lal Nursery and Janta Nursery. Meanwhile, the real estate company has maintained that the government reneged on its promise of executing the perpetual lease deed despite completion of the buildings. A status quo was ordered by the civil court and the government was restrained from re-entry, while the case dragged on till 2009. In August 2009, the civil court ruled that the building was constructed as per government’s instructions and that there was no misuse. The government had then challenged this verdict before a district court, which on July 11, set aside the civil court’s order.

In April this year, the government, citing a Supreme Court order, had sought handover of possession of five single-bedroom flats, 9 double bedroom flats, 39 servant quarters and 25 garages in North and South Sujan Park from Sir Sobha and Sons.

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Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court

Professional Profile

Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.

Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).

Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.

She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.

With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:

High-Profile Case Coverage

She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.

Signature Style

Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.

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