The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday stayed the directions of a lower Haryana court, which had ordered initiation of criminal action against Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Justice Hemant Gupta of the High Court stayed the directions of initiation of criminal action against Meira and former MLA Ram Rattan issued by Surya Pratap Singh, Additional District Judge (ADJ), Faridabad on September 26. The stay order came on a petition filed by Meira, who challenged the ADJ’s order against her in a property dispute between her and her estranged niece, Medhavi Kirti.

Expressing displeasure over the observations/directions passed by the ADJ, Justice Gupta also issued notices to Medhavi and her mother Kamal Kumar, who are the opposite parties in the property dispute.

The dispute pertains to an agricultural land owned by Meira’s father and former Deputy PM Babu Jagjivan Ram, who was in possession of 99 kanals and four marlas situated in Palwal, Faridabad. A case was filed in the lower court by Medhavi, alleging that after the demise of Babu Jagjivan Ram, Meira in connivance with Ram Rattan concealed material facts from Tehsildar, Palwal and got the mutation sanctioned in her name.