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Special HC bench summons PMO Ayodhya Cell chief

A special bench of the Allahabad high court has summoned Shatrughan Singh, the chief of the Ayodhya Cell in the Prime Minister's Office, on September 10.

The order of the three-judge bench, comprising Justice Sudhir Narain, Justice Syed Rafat Alam and Justice Bhanwar Singh, came on Saturday.

The bench, which has been holding day-to-day hearings on the Ayodhya issue, has taken serious note of what it terms as a lapse on the part of the Ayodhya Cell in-charge to carry out the court's directions issued on July 11.

The bench had instructed the PMO official to furnish a letter sent by Prince Anjum Qadar, the descendent of Avadh's last nawab, Wajid Ali Shah, to former prime minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh. While the PMO official had submitted in an affidavit before the court that such a letter had been sent by Prince Qadar on February 26, 1990, it could not be traced in his office files.

Expressing its displeasure, the bench observed, "It seems that the Ayodhya cell chief had not cared to trace the letter."

The court had already conceded the PMO's request to extend the earlier deadline for furnishing the letter. Taking a strong view over the "missing" letter, the court had on July 30 made it clear that it was the duty of the Ayodhya cell to trace it.

Since the two weeks' time given by the court in this regard had also expired, the court decided to summon the official.

The Ayodhya Issue: Complete Coverage

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