Punjab: Court attaches Patiala DC’s official car, one-third salary

A court had ordered Punjab govt to give back 100 bighas to Partition-hit family or compensate them for the same

Officials on Thursday executed a local court order and attached the official car used by Patiala deputy commissioner and one-third of the officer’s salary. The action comes over the state government’s ‘failure’ to abide by a verdict directing it to return 100 bighas of land to a Partition-hit family or compensate them for the same.

Court officials have seized the Toyota Innova car that was being used by Patiala DC. (HT Photo)

In the order passed on August 9, 2024, the court had directed attaching of moveable properties being used by DC Preeti Yadav, public works department and other government offices.

Court officials said they seized the Toyota Innova car being used by DC Yadav but attaching of other assets such as air conditioners and furniture was temporarily halted after intervention by additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Isha Singhal. The court has now granted the administration and government time till Monday (April 21), before the next round of action.

The land in question, belonging to one Gulam Mohammed, is located at Jhill village in Patiala district. Mohammed had relocated to Malerkotla at the time of Partition and died on November 30, 1947.

In 2006, his daughter Kaneez Fatima set out to reclaim her ancestral land, or compensation equivalent to market value. In 2014, a local court had ordered that the Punjab government either return the land or pay for it according to market value.

The state government moved Punjab and Haryana high court and then the Supreme Court, both of which upheld the verdict. However, the family has not yet received a penny, which led to the latest action against the officials.

Advocate RK Nagpal, representing Kaneez Fatima, expressed frustration over the ‘delays’. “It has been six years since the order and not a penny has been paid so far. The government has made no serious effort. On the contrary, the decree holders are being threatened,” he said.

DC Yadav and ADC Singhal did not respond to repeated calls and messages from HT.