Court orders status quo on Gulmarg hotel

Baramulla, Sep 27: A day after the possession of Hotel Royal Park, Gulmarg, was taken over by the J&K government after its rent agreement expired in June this year, a Baramulla court directed the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) to maintain the status quo with respect to the hotel premises until the next hearing scheduled on October 7, 2025.

The order was passed by the court of the 1st Additional District Judge, Baramulla, Naseer Ahmad Dar, in a suit filed by Bilal Ahmad Shah, proprietor of the Hotel Royal Park, against the GDA.

Advocate Khurshid Naik, while appearing on behalf of the plaintiff, argued over the lease agreement granted 20 years back.

Naik argued that the 20-year lease period should be calculated from December 2005, the date of completion of renovation works and execution of the rent deed, and would therefore expire only in November 2025.

He argued that the plaintiff had regularly paid rent, including an advance for the coming four months, and that his request for a lease extension of another 20 years was still under consideration with the J&K Tourism Department.

The court, after perusing the plaint and supporting documents, observed that a prima facie case exists in favour of the plaintiff and restrained the GDA from eviction until further hearing.

The order also allows the defendant authority to seek modification or cancellation of the interim relief.

Earlier, GDA officials had announced that Hotel Royal Park was being reclaimed after the rent agreement expired in June this year, and that the property would be handed back to the GDA.

The hotel, a GDA-owned property, had been rented to a local businessman for nearly two decades.

The move to reclaim the Hotel Royal Park, Gulmarg, by the authorities on Saturday sparked massive uproar among scores of tourists staying at Hotel Royal Park, Gulmarg.

The tourists alleged harassment after they were asked to vacate the hotel immediately, leaving them in distress.

Accusing the authorities of harassment, a woman tourist staying at the hotel said that a group of unknown officials repeatedly knocked at their doors and directed them to vacate their rooms.

Sangeeta of Maharashtra said she had booked the hotel for three days a few weeks back.

“Since yesterday, we have had a bitter experience. Our doors are being repeatedly knocked on by officials asking us to vacate immediately. It is harassment,” she said. “I am suffering from an anxiety disorder. I came here for a stress-free stay, but instead I experienced repeated harassment, which has worsened my health.”

Sangeeta’s son, who accompanied her, questioned why the hotel accepted online bookings if the authorities had planned to seize it.

“The hotel rooms were booked by tourists. The officials, in a hurry, want us to leave the hotel. What kind of hospitality is this? The Tourism Department, after the Pahalgam terror attack, is wooing tourists to return to Kashmir and enjoy the hospitality, but here we are facing this unexpected behaviour from the officials,” he said.

The Hotel Royal Park, Gulmarg, an earlier property of GDA, had been rented to a local businessman for nearly two decades.

An official on Friday said that after the rent agreement expired in June, the rent extension was denied by the government, and the property was subsequently taken back.

The court order issued on Saturday is considered a huge relief to the proprietor of the hotel, besides scores of tourists staying at the hotel who were worried over the sudden decision by the authorities to seize the hotel.