Himachal High Court dismisses Oberoi petition and allows Wildflower Hall Possession to Govt with in 2 months

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has granted significant relief to the state government by approving its plea to assume control of the opulent Wildflower Hotel in Chharabra near Shimla, currently operated by Oberoi Group Hotels-East India Hotels Limited.

Justice Satyen Vaidya, in an order declared on Friday, endorsed the state government’s appeal to acquire possession of the hotel and directed Oberoi Hotels to surrender control of Wildflower Hotel to the state government within the next two months.

Wildflower Hall, originally the official residence of Lord Kitchener, the former Commander of the British Army in India pre-Independence, was handed over to the Himachal Pradesh government post-Independence. The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation operated a hotel on the premises, which was unfortunately destroyed in a fire in 1993.

Following the incident, the state government leased the property to Oberoi Hotels, where a luxury hotel has been operational for nearly three decades. The government took legal action after Oberoi Hotels failed to fulfill the agreed-upon revenue equity payment of approximately Rs 120 crore over 25 years.

The High Court presented the state government with the option to receive the outstanding amount and continue the lease with the hotel group. However, the current Sukhvinder Singh government opted to reclaim possession of the hotel. Consequently, the Court directed Oberoi Group to relinquish control of the property to the state government.

Subsequently, Oberoi Group submitted a review petition to the High Court, which was dismissed on Friday, allowing the state government’s execution petition for possession of Wildflower Hotel. Additional Advocate General I N Mehta confirmed, “The Himachal Pradesh High Court has rejected Oberoi Hotels’ review petition and authorized the possession of Wildflower Hotel within two months.”