No notice had been served. No hearing was given. No document was produced.
In the long arc of democratic governance, the line between lawful enforcement and political retribution is often contested in the offices of those meant to hold power accountable. On a February morning in Punjab, a boundary wall on ancestral land said to have been held for over two centuries was torn down without notice, hearing, or legal authorization — and a senior Congress delegation carried that grievance to the governor's door, asking whether the state's constitutional guardian would see in the rubble something more than routine administration.
- A force of 400-500 police officers arrived at MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira's ancestral property at dawn with a JCB machine, demolishing a boundary wall while Khaira stood present, holding ownership documents and receiving no legal justification.
- Congress leaders argue this is not an isolated incident but the latest in a pattern of five criminal cases, a Supreme Court-quashed drug arrest, and now a demolition — all targeting a former leader of the opposition since the current government took power in 2022.
- The officer who executed the demolition is himself named in two criminal cases and was suspended in a separate matter involving alleged misappropriation of 41 lakh rupees, raising sharp questions about who was chosen to carry out the action and why.
- Supreme Court guidelines requiring a 15-day notice period before demolitions were not followed, nor were principles of natural justice — no notice served, no hearing offered, no court order produced at the scene.
- The Congress delegation has formally petitioned Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to order legal action against the officers involved and provide compensation, placing the matter before Punjab's highest constitutional authority as a test of institutional independence.
On Monday morning, a senior Congress delegation — led by state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa, and MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira — walked into the Punjab governor's office carrying a formal complaint. Their grievance: a boundary wall on Khaira's private ancestral property in Ramgarh village, Kapurthala district, had been demolished two days earlier without any legal notice, court order, or opportunity to be heard.
The demolition unfolded on February 23, when a force of 400 to 500 police personnel arrived at 8 in the morning alongside senior district officials and a JCB machine. Khaira was present, showed ownership documents, and asked to see legal authorization. None was produced. The entire episode was recorded and circulated on social media.
For Congress, the demolition was not a standalone event. Since March 2022, they say, Khaira has faced five criminal cases they describe as false, including an arrest in a drug case the Supreme Court had already quashed — and a second arrest from jail just as bail was being granted. The Supreme Court stayed that case in April 2024. The boundary wall, they argued, was simply the latest instrument of what they characterized as systematic political harassment.
The delegation also drew attention to the officer tasked with executing the demolition — BDPO Kulwinder Singh Randhawa — who is himself named in two criminal cases, including an FIR on charges of criminal breach of trust, and was suspended in a matter involving alleged misappropriation of 41 lakh rupees in government funds.
The legal case they pressed was procedural at its core: Supreme Court guidelines mandate a 15-day notice period before any demolition, followed by another 15 days for affected parties to seek remedy. Neither was observed. Khaira's family, they noted, has held continuous possession of this land for more than 200 years, within the traditional village boundary known as the lal dora.
The delegation asked Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to order strict action against the officers involved and provide compensation for reputational and emotional harm. The matter now rests with the governor's office — a quiet but consequential question of whether constitutional authority will treat what happened in Ramgarh as an abuse of power, or as administration proceeding within its discretion.
On Monday morning, a senior delegation of Congress leaders walked into the Punjab governor's office with a complaint about what they said was an illegal demolition carried out without warning or legal process. The group—led by state party president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa, and MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira himself—handed over a formal representation to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, alleging that a boundary wall on Khaira's private ancestral property in Ramgarh village, Kapurthala district, had been torn down by police and civil officials in violation of basic legal procedure.
The demolition happened on February 23. According to the Congress account, a force of 400 to 500 police personnel arrived at the property at 8 in the morning, accompanied by senior officers including Kapurthala's superintendent of police Gaurav Toora and other district-level officials. They brought a JCB machine and began dismantling the boundary wall. Khaira was present at the site and, the delegation stated, showed ownership documents to the officers and asked to see any legal notice authorizing the action. None was produced. No notice had been served beforehand. No opportunity for a hearing was given. The entire incident was recorded and shared on social media.
The Congress leaders framed this as part of a broader pattern of what they called political harassment. Since the current government took office in March 2022, they said, Khaira—a former leader of the opposition—has faced five separate criminal cases, all of which they described as false and frivolous. Most notably, he was arrested in a nine-year-old drug case that the Supreme Court had already quashed, and was arrested again from jail just as he was about to receive bail in that same matter. The Supreme Court subsequently stayed the case in April 2024. Against this backdrop, the Congress delegation presented the boundary wall demolition not as a routine enforcement action but as another chapter in what they characterized as systematic persecution.
The representation also raised questions about the officer who carried out the demolition. BDPO Kulwinder Singh Randhawa, who was tasked with executing the action, is himself named in two separate criminal cases, including an FIR filed in August 2024 at the vigilance bureau in Patiala on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. He was also suspended in another matter involving alleged misappropriation of government funds totaling 41 lakh rupees. The Congress leaders argued that placing such an officer in charge of a demolition raised serious questions about the impartiality and legitimacy of the action.
The legal argument the delegation pressed centered on procedure. They cited recent Supreme Court guidelines that require a 15-day notice period before any demolition, followed by another 15 days for affected parties to seek legal remedies. None of this happened. They also pointed to the Punjab Common Lands Act of 1961, which they said was not followed. Most fundamentally, they invoked the principle of natural justice—the basic right to know what you are accused of and to be heard before action is taken against you. Khaira's family, they noted, has held continuous possession of this ancestral land for more than 200 years, and it falls within the traditional village boundary known as the lal dora.
The delegation asked the governor to order strict legal action against the officers involved, in line with the Supreme Court's own rulings on demolition procedure. They also sought compensation for what they described as damage to Khaira's reputation and the mental anguish caused by the action. The case now sits with the governor's office, a test of whether the state's highest constitutional authority will intervene in what the Congress sees as an abuse of administrative power, or whether the demolition will be treated as a routine enforcement matter that fell within official discretion.
Notable Quotes
Congress delegation alleged the action violated principles of natural justice and recent Supreme Court guidelines on demolition procedure— Congress representation to Punjab Governor
Khaira was present at the site and sought to see any legal notice, but no such document was produced by officers— Congress delegation statement
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a boundary wall demolition rise to the level of a governor's petition? It seems like a local property dispute.
Because of the pattern. One demolition in isolation might be routine. But when you layer it onto five criminal cases, arrests in cases the Supreme Court has already questioned, and an officer carrying out the action who himself faces corruption charges—it starts to look like something else.
The government would say they were enforcing the law. What's the Congress actually claiming?
That the law was enforced without following the law. No notice, no hearing, no chance to respond. The Supreme Court itself has said demolitions need 15 days' notice and 15 days for legal remedy. This had zero notice.
And the land itself—is there a real dispute about who owns it?
Not according to Congress. They say the family has held it for over 200 years, it's within the village's traditional boundary, and Khaira showed ownership documents to the officers on the spot. The question isn't ownership. It's whether the state can tear down your wall without telling you first.
What does the officer's corruption history have to do with this specific demolition?
It goes to credibility. If you're putting someone in charge of a demolition who's under investigation for misappropriating 41 lakh rupees in another case, it raises questions about whether this action is really about enforcing rules or about something else.
What happens next?
The governor has to decide whether to order an inquiry or let it stand. If he acts, it could mean legal consequences for the officers. If he doesn't, it signals that the state's administrative power operates without the checks the Supreme Court has tried to put in place.