Court dismisses notice of motion filed by journalist expelled for press club

3 min readMumbaiJul 2, 2026 12:04 AM IST

The court took note that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had moved for cancellation of bail of the accused in the criminal proceedings of the Elgaar Parishad case, which is pending.

The Mumbai City Civil court on Wednesday dismissed a notice of motion filed by senior journalist Gurbir Singh, who had sought a stay on his six-year expulsion from the Mumbai Press Club till a suit filed by him is decided.

Singh and two others were expelled for six years from its membership, over an informal meeting held at the club’s terrace on January 19, with some of the Elgaar Parishad accused in attendance.

While the civil court had in May stayed the expulsion and issued notices to the press club and others to seek their response, the current office-bearers had approached the Bombay High Court. The high court had on May 22, stayed the civil court’s order stating that it did not assign any reason or basis to arrive at the conclusion to grant Singh a stay and also permit him to contest elections of the club.

The High Court had also later directed the court to decide the notice of motion by June 20, setting aside the previous relief.

City Civil Judge A H Baig said in the order on Wednesday that Singh had failed to make a prima facie case for interim relief, and dismissed it with costs.

It said that the club’s action was according to its rules, with no malafides on its part. Singh had said in his plea that the club’s inquiry committee’s inquiry based on which the suspension was ordered was not conducted as per procedure. The club’s office-bearers opposing this contention said that Article 11 of the Club’s bylaws which deals with disciplinary action, was followed.

“After going through all the documents, prima facie it appears to me that the Club has substantially followed the procedure before taking disciplinary action against the plaintiff (Singh) and other two members. By and large, the principles of natural justice were also followed. Plaintiff and other two members were given personal hearings and also an opportunity to defend the allegations leveled against them,” the court said.

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Singh had said in his plea that he has been a member of the Club for 40 years and has served as its president, chairman and secretary from time to time.

He had said that he was called to the club by the other two expelled members on January 19, in which some persons including the accused of the Elgaar Parishad case were also invited. Singh had said that the meeting was for a journalistic purpose and out of professional interest.

The club had said its inquiry committee had given its opinion that the meeting may have resulted in violation of the bail conditions of the accused, who were told by court to not communicate with each other. It said that thus the meeting exposed the club to potential ‘legal and reputational risk’.

The court took note that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had moved for cancellation of bail of the accused in the criminal proceedings of the Elgaar Parishad case, which is pending.

Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. Reporting for The Indian Express, she is a highly Trustworthy source for in-depth coverage of courtroom proceedings and human rights issues.

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