The Delhi High Court has ordered Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and other GMR Group companies to vacate a luxury farmhouse that was being used as the official residence of the company’s chairman and managing director.

In a 1 September ruling, Justice Subramonium Prasad held Onkar Infotech to be the rightful owner of Pushpanjali Farms in Delhi’s Bijwasan area, having purchased it in May 2024 for ₹115 crore.

The court found that the lease GMR Group had relied on was unregistered and therefore invalid under law, reducing the companies’ status to that of month-to-month tenants.

The dispute concerns a 3.81-acre estate with a 30,000 sq.ft. house, lawns, and an outhouse. In April 2020, 2.45 acres, including the main house, were leased to DIAL and other GMR entities at a rent of ₹39.6 lakh per month, later revised to ₹45.6 lakh. 

The farmhouse was used as the official residence of GMR’s CMD, with the company claiming to have invested heavily in facilities such as a swimming pool.

The lease had been signed with the former owner, Indus Sor Urja, but was never registered. In May 2024, Indus Sor Urja sold the property to Onkar Infotech for ₹115 crore, paying around ₹9 crore in stamp duty and registration charges. 

According to the order following the sale, DIAL acknowledged Onkar as the new landlord, transferred a security deposit of ₹2.72 crore, and even sought bank details to remit rent.

Onkar, however, maintained that the 2020 lease was void for lack of registration. 

It treated GMR as month-to-month tenants and issued a lease termination notice in July 2024, thereafter refusing to accept rent and demanding possession.

GMR resisted the eviction, arguing that the land was agricultural and therefore governed by the Delhi Land Reforms Act, which bars civil courts from hearing such disputes. It also claimed the lease had been extended until 2028 and accused Onkar of suppressing facts about its ownership in revenue records.

The Delhi High Court rejected these arguments, ruling that the lease was unenforceable and GMR’s continued occupation unlawful once the tenancy was terminated. It also dismissed the agricultural land defence, affirming the validity of Onkar’s ownership and sale deed.