Chandigarh, June 11 -- A Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) division bench has stayed a single judge order, whereby the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was roped in for preliminary probe into a property dispute involving a Canadian citizen. The HC division bench of justice Sandeep Moudgil and justice Neerja K Kalson acted on a petition from the UT administration and police, arguing that the single judge's order may adversely affect the ongoing investigation and lead to institutional prejudice against the police. The HC single bench, in its May 26 order, had directed the CBI to probe the property dispute and look into the role of all parties involved, including police officials irrespective of their rank. The single judge's order had come in response to a petition filed by a Canadian citizen, Sarabjit Singh Gill, on April 6. Gill had demanded that the UT administration and Centre be told to place on record a look-out circular sent in respect of him whereby he has been restrained from returning to Canada. He also demanded that the respondents be directed to permit him to travel back to his home country because he has already joined investigation in the criminal case registered in the dispute. His allegations were that despite orders by different courts on the civil side and dismissal of the complaint by a court, the police, at the behest of a property dealer, registered a criminal case in May 2025, based on documents relating to a property deal executed in April 1975 and September 1999. The matter was examined by different courts in light of these documents. He further stated that police officials had come to serve him the summons while he was in a gurdwara to perform the last rites of his mother. "It shows the haste and connivance of the police officials. The matter needs to be investigated by an independent agency like CBI," the petitioner stated. According to the timeline of events presented before the court by the petitioner, he had come to India on February 2 in wake of his mother's critical health, his mother passed away on February 22 and a bhog ceremony was held in Chandigarh on February 28. According to the plea, he was issued summons by the economic offences wing (EOW), Chandigarh, and told to appear in an FIR registered on May 20, 2025, for forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy etc. against his mother and sister. The petitioner was to return on March 5 but was restrained from leaving the country, the plea said, adding that he filed representation on March 8 followed by another application on March 18 seeking permission to travel due to the medical condition of his wife. By that time, the petitioner had appeared before police on March 11, 12 and 14 and upon summoning appeared on March 24. On the other hand, UT police had told the court that they acted in accordance with law and the allegations are "mis-conceived". The single judge court was not convinced with the UT police's submissions and observed, "There is open firing in different sectors of Chandigarh, however, police seems to be overactive in a stale civil matter. Their prima facie seems oblique and mala fide purposes. The matter needs to be examined by an independent agency," it said while passing the order on May 26. The court's apparent reference was to firing incidents being reported in Chandigarh, including one in which a property dealer was shot dead outside a gym in Sector 9. The appeal against this order was filed by the Chandigarh administration on June 9, arguing that the single judge bench, while dealing with a look-out circular issued in connection with a criminal case registered on May 20, 2025, has travelled beyond the pleadings by directing a preliminary inquiry through CBI and making adverse observations against police. The division bench has now sought response from the Canadian citizen by July 16 and has ordered that the operation of May 26 order of the single judge bench would remain in abeyance till the next date of hearing....