Chandigarh, July 22 -- The proposed auction of Chandigarh's heritage furniture in Barcelona, Spain, scheduled for July 22, has been halted following the Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) diplomatic intervention, marking the second such success for the UT administration within weeks.

A similar diplomatic intervention in Paris last month had led to the withdrawal of two chairs, designed by Swiss-French architect Pierre Jeanneret, the cousin of Le Corbusier, who was instrumental in shaping Chandigarh, from an auction.

The administration had flagged the Barcelona auction as a suspected case of illegal removal and sale of protected heritage assets. Acting on its request, the Indian Embassy in Spain intervened, leading to the withdrawal of ...