New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the state government will fight the Wildflower Hall case both legally and politically and ensure no losses are incurred on the bookings of the guests staying at the luxury hotel, news agency ANI reported.
Earlier on Saturday, the Himachal Pradesh High Court ordered the state government to take over the possession of the hotel, but hours later, stayed the resumption till further orders.
The High Court stayed the execution of the order and said “the respondent state shall not interfere in the day to day management and possession of the hotel.”
“It is the duty of the state government that the state's property is not harmed. We have been fighting the case for 22 years. The Court had given a decision in our favour. Yesterday morning, we took over its possessions. After that, the court held a hearing and stayed our adjudication order,” news agency ANI quoted CM Sukhu as saying.
“We will fight this in both a legal and political way. No loss will be done to the bookings of the guests that are staying at Hotel Wildflower Hall. This is state property. We did not get the money for the lease. When we have an agreement, then it is our right,” he added.
It is to be noted that Wildflower Hall, that was originally owned by Lord Kitchener, was run by the Himachal Tourism till a massive fire broke out in the luxury hotel in 1993.
It was later handed over to the East India Hotel Ltd, flagship company of the Oberoi Group, to be run as a joint venture. However, the Himachal government terminated the agreement in 2002 and the two parties have been engaged in a litigation battle since then.