The Punjab and Haryana High Court has instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate an alleged attempt to take control of eight acres of valuable land located next to the upscale VIP Road in Zirakpur.

Justice Pankaj Jain's bench also ordered the Punjab and Haryana High Court registry to forward the case file to the administrative judge for review and any required action regarding the involvement of Bathinda judicial officer, Navreet Kaur, in the case.

The bench noted that due to the way legal procedures have been used to further the unlawful intentions of certain troublemakers, and the inconsistent behavior of the investigating agency, this is a case that demands a comprehensive and meticulous investigation by an impartial organization. Consequently, the probe into the FIR filed by Zirakpur police on March 10, 2022, has been handed over to the CBI.

In February, the Guru Nanak Vidya Bhandar Trust from Daryaganj, New Delhi, filed a petition in the high court requesting the transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

According to the petition, the Guru Nanak Vidya Bhandar Trust, which has a history of over a century, had acquired several properties over the years. The allegations suggest that the accused individuals, Rajinder Kumar and Sarabjit Singh, created a fraudulent trust by forging documents in an attempt to unlawfully seize an eight-acre parcel of land located adjacent to VIP Road.

Two additional individuals, Sanjeev Kumar Gabha and Rajesh Kumar Gabha, have been identified as accused in the First Information Report (FIR) related to this case.

In a report submitted by Mohali SSP Sandeep Kumar Garg on August 18, it was conveyed to the court that the cancellation report in the First Information Report (FIR) has been approved.

Yet, on October 18, a new status report was submitted by Garg, and it took a significant change in direction. The report stated that chargesheets had been filed against four individuals on October 16, and the involvement of others is currently under investigation.

The court noted that the inconsistent stance taken by the investigating agency does not reflect positively on the situation, particularly when the case is still under consideration by the high court.

The court emphasized that this matter should not be treated lightly, especially considering how the legal process has been misused. This indicates that the offense is not ordinary, and the individuals involved should not be underestimated. As a result, the court instructed the CBI to investigate the FIR and complete the process within six months.

Regarding the role of the judicial officer, it was alleged that a lawyer from Bathinda, Vikas Kumar, who had been involved in the dispute in Mohali, covertly moved the legal proceedings to Bathinda. There, the case was heard by judicial officer Navreet Kaur, who issued orders in an unrelated case. These orders included requests for the trust's records and the examination of certain witnesses, seemingly as a means to exert pressure on the complainants associated with the trust.

When this situation came to the attention of the High Court, they asked the judicial officer for an explanation. However, the officer could not provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the "relevance of evidence, such as the trust's records," in the case being handled in Bathinda. This observation was made by the bench in its order.

Regarding advocate Vikas Kumar, he had acknowledged that the records he had summoned were not pertinent to the case underway in Bathinda. Consequently, his case has been transferred to the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana for appropriate action.