LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed Central and state governments to provide adequate security forthwith to lawyers and judges associated with the 2010 Ayodhya verdict. The order was passed by a division bench of Justice DP Singh and Justice DK Upadhayay after the IB report submitted before the court revealed that the SIMI has joined hands with the Indian Mujahidin to eliminate the three judges and lawyers related to Ayodhya verdict.

The court directed the state to provide Z plus category to Justice Sudhir Agrawal and if asked for then necessary security cover to his family too. It directed the state to give Z category to justice S U Khan and justice D V Sharma. The court said the security will never be withdrawnuntil its orders. The court further directed to provide two shadow to advocates H S Jain and Ranjana Agnihotri along with adequate security at their residence round the clock.

It also directed the state to provide two shadows for other eight lawyers. The court directed the Centre and Delhi government to provide security to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravi Shanker Prasad and two others who practise in Delhi and had appeared in the case. It also directed the West Bengal government to give adequate security to two lawyers who appeared in the case and hailed from there. The court has sought compliance report on January 15, 2014.

The order came on a petition seeking security to the judges and lawyers associated with the Ayodhya matter. The court had sought IB