The Himachal Pradesh high court refused to grant possession of 98 acres of land to Ramdev's Patanjali Yog Peeth on Wednesday and directed the government to maintain status quo.

On February 22, the state had taken possession of the land along with buildings and other infrastructure.

The Patanjali Yog Peeth had challenged the state cabinet's decision of February 19 to cancel the lease on the land at Solan district's Sadhupul.

In its petition, the Patanjali Yog Peeth said the state had leased the land to it for 99 years and hence the government's action was illegal.