Ludhiana: Moments after court-ordered eviction, Congress ‘reoccupies’ office

Property’s owner Vimmy Gogna had filed a petition claiming the Congress had illegally occupied her family’s property for years without paying rent; Congress leaders say they were unaware of the court order

A high drama was witnessed outside the Congress office near Clock Tower in the city after court-appointed bailiffs got its locks broken in presence of the actual owner of the property moments before party workers turned up who placed their locks again on the office door. Congress leaders later claimed they were not aware of the court order regarding eviction in favour of the property owner.

The Congress office has been located near the Clock Tower market for over 50 years. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

After the bailiffs turned up, the building owner put black paint on the board of the party, evicted their belongings and placed his locks on the door. Members of the party (rural and urban) and its youth wing gathered in large numbers who later kept the belongings inside the building after breaking open the locks. They put their own locks on the doors claiming their possession again.

Property’s owner Vimmy Gogna had filed a petition claiming the Congress had illegally occupied her family’s property for years without paying rent. Her husband Surinder Kumar said they had purchased the property nearly 25 years ago and had been trying to reclaim it for the past eight years. “They never paid rent. The building is in such a bad condition now that even Congress leaders avoid using it. The court finally ruled in our favour,” he said.

Following the orders of civil judge Supinder Singh dated July 11, bailiffs reached the site to carry out the eviction order. They broke the locks and started removing Congress belongings. Surinder Kumar stated that on Wednesday, court bailiffs arrived to execute the court’s eviction order.

“They broke open the existing locks, installed new ones and handed over the keys to us. The entire process was recorded on video for official documentation. Following the court’s instructions, we loaded a tempo with items belonging to the Congress that were inside the property. While loading a second tempo, Congress workers arrived at the scene and began creating a commotion. They forcibly removed the locks placed by the court officials and replaced them with their own. They also shifted the remaining items back inside the office. We have submitted a written complaint to the local police and will be approaching the court to initiate contempt proceedings against them,”he added.

A tempo filled with party material was already loaded when Congress workers, led by district president (urban) Sanjay Talwar, arrived. Mistaking the action for an unlawful attempt to seize the office, they removed the new locks installed by bailiffs and replaced them with their own. This led to a heated standoff.

Inspector Rajinderpal Singh, station house officer (SHO) at the division number 1 police station, said, “The chaos happened during the implementation of court orders today as the bailiffs also did not inform us that they were here to take the possession. We would have provided them the required support. Both sides have submitted applications to us. The Congress has claimed that they did not mean to dishonour the court order and were unaware of the same due to which they broke open the locks. The owners have claimed that it was contempt of court. However, we will proceed as per the fresh court orders.”

Sanjay Talwar said the party had not received any court summons. He claimed that neither he nor his predecessor Ashwani Sharma received any court notice. “We respect the court. We did not know about the case or the eviction order. Had we known, this situation could have been avoided. We’re willing to pay rent if due and will present our side in the court,” he added. Talwar said they would file an appeal seeking a fair hearing.

The Congress office has been at the location for more than 50 years, but the court’s recent action has placed a question mark on its future. The local police are now waiting for further court instructions before taking the next steps.

Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring is the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee.