No court stay on auction of Kapurthala Jagatjit Club

The hearing on the objections raised against the auction of the historic Jagatjit Club, Kapurthala, has been deferred to April 25 by the District and Sessions Court, Kapurthala.

Responding to objection petitions, seeking a stay on the auction of the Jagatjit Club, the court on Wednesday rescheduled the matter for hearing on April 25. The court has not issued a stay on the auction proceedings for now.

The Jagatjit Club’s 13 kanal 14 marla property had been attached in an ongoing case – an execution filed by a Phagwara resident Nirbhail Singh, seeking enhancement of compensation for his over 8 kanal property, which was acquired in 2002, for four-laning of the Ropar-Balachaur-Nawanshahr-Phagwara road. As per Nirbhail’s appeal, a payment of Rs 1,42,19,304 is due towards him and others as compensation.

On April 17, applications had been moved by the district administration and secretary of Jagatjit Club, Kapurthala, Sanjeev Suri, against the auction of the club, seeking a stay on the auction proceedings, terming it a historic building. The auction of the club had been ordered by the district court in an order issued on April 2. A notice for the club’s auction had already been put up as scheduled on April 18 and the ‘munadi’ is due on April 29 while the sale of the club is scheduled for May 9.

During the proceedings today, on behalf of the Land Acquisition Collector-cum-SDM, Phagwara, SDO Amrik Singh of the PWD appeared in the court. He asked the court for one-month time to repay the pending dues, with regard to which the club property had been attached. But the court refused to grant the time.

The court of Harpal Singh, District and Sessions Judge, Kapurthala, set April 25 as the next date of hearing on the issue on which the SDM, Phagwara, has been asked to appear in the court to give his statement on the matter.

Barring this, a civil writ petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the issue is also due for hearing on May 1. With the auction of the club barely a fortnight away, the hearings on April 25 (district court) and May 1 (HC) will be pivotal to determine the future of the historic building, which bears testimony to architectural vision and acumen of erstwhile Maharajas of Kapurthala, who fashioned the town after Paris.

The application filed on April 17 in the district court by the Land Acquisition Collector-cum-SDM, Phagwara, had argued that the club is a historical building, representing the community, history, identity and cultural value of the town. And that the principle of preservation of historical buildings should take precedence over private debts and alternative remedy should be explored. It had also argued that the sale value of the attached property (the club) is much more than the amount of the debt owed, which the club’s auction is aimed to satisfy.

Jalandhar