Patiala: A local court on Tuesday ordered the attachment of movable property of the office of the deputy inspector general (DIG), Patiala Range, in a pension-related legal dispute on for nearly four decades.The warrant of attachment, issued by civil judge (junior division) Jaspreet Singh Minhas, directed the court bailiff to attach furniture, electronic equipment and the official vehicle (Toyota Innova) of the police officer. The listed property included 50 tables, 40 chairs, 10 air conditioners, 20 fans, 10 computers, four printers and other articles, along with official car. The warrant was made returnable by March 16. In 1985, sub-inspector Sucha Singh (now dead) was prematurely retired by Sangrur SSP, a decision that he challenged. Additional district judge, Patiala, on Sept 1, 1993, ruled his retirement illegal and void. The court held that he should be deemed in service until his regular age of superannuation and entitled to full pay, allowances and retirement benefits, with interest at 12% per annum, compounded annually. Punjab challenged the order before the Punjab and Haryana high court in 1995, but the appeal was dismissed on Aug 13, 2025. Sucha Singh died in 2012, along with most of his immediate family. His grandson, Ravinder Singh, pursued execution of the decree as the sole surviving legal heir. With Punjab failing to implement the order, Ravinder Singh filed an execution petition before the civil court, Patiala, to recover arrears of pension. Despite a three-month extension by the court in Dec on its application seeking more time, the state did not comply with the order When the matter came up for hearing on March 10, an inspector offered no adequate explanation for continued non-compliance. Judge Minhas, after perusing the record, dismissed the state’s application for further time, observing that granting it would amount to non-compliance with binding judgments. This was the second time in recent months that the Patiala court moved to attach govt property in the matter. Earlier, the court ordered attachment of movable property belonging to the office of the deputy commissioner, Patiala, including furniture, electronic equipment and an official car, after the state failed to comply. The next hearing is on March 16. MSID:: 129466704 413 |
