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Ludhiana: Congress moves court after high drama over office possession
Court-appointed bailiffs had on Wednesday handed over the building possession to its owner who took out the Congress’ furniture and other items out of the premises moments before party men turned up in large numbers and re-occupied the building
A day after a dramatic confrontation unfolded outside the district Congress office near Clock Tower, senior party leaders approached a local court on Thursday, requesting their side be heard in the ongoing legal dispute over the building’s possession. Court-appointed bailiffs had on Wednesday handed over the building possession to its owner who took out the Congress’ furniture and other items out of the premises moments before party men turned up in large numbers and re-occupied the building. They later claimed that they were not aware of the court order.
District Congress president and former MLA Sanjay Talwar, District Youth Congress president Happy Lali and vice president of District Congress (Rural) Harmeet Singh submitted an application challenging the court’s earlier order, which they claim was passed ex parte—without their knowledge or representation.
Talwar alleged that no prior summons or court notices had been served to any of the Congress office-bearers, despite the office functioning from the premises for decades. “The building has housed our office for years. We were never made aware of any legal proceedings,” Talwar said, expressing concern over the way the case had progressed.
Referring to the legal procedures, he emphasised, “According to the law, if a respondent is unavailable, the summons can be served to their relatives or office-bearers. In our case, several responsible individuals — including presidents of the party’s urban and rural committees, Youth Congress and even current and former MLAs — were available. Yet, no such communication was made.”
He further claimed that during the hearings, the petitioner misled the court by stating that the office was locked and not in use. Talwar also revealed that the building owner had once initiated talks with former district Congress president Gurpreet Gogi Bassi regarding a potential agreement, but no deal materialised and no follow-up communication was received.
On Thursday, Talwar said, it came to their knowledge that the court case filed by the applicant listed former district Congress (Rural) president Soni Galib and Malkit Singh Dakha among the respondents. “Summons were reportedly issued in Galib’s name, directed to the Congress office-address near Clock Tower, which were never reached to him,” he said.
Meanwhile, Surinder Kumar, husband of applicant Vimmy Gogna, said another application was filed in court on Thursday, flagging Wednesday’s confrontation as a potential contempt of court.
Talwar emphasised that the Congress respects the court’s authority. “We will comply with legal procedures but will continue to fight this matter through proper legal channels,” he asserted.
The issue escalated on Wednesday when court-appointed bailiffs, acting on a possession order, handed over control of the disputed building to the legal owner. The owner evicted party belongings and secured the premises with new locks, but Congress workers forcibly re-entered the building, retrieved their material and installed their own locks, claiming the premises once again.
