Kerala act 026 of 1969 : The Kerala Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remain Act, 1969 (No.26 of 1969)

188

THE KERALA ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND

REMAINS

ACT, ¹⁹⁶⁹

(Act ^26of

1969)

CONTENTS

Preamble. Sections

1

Short

title,

extent and commencement

2 Definitions Protection of Ancient Monuments and

Archaeological 904mm

10.

11

12

13

14.

15

16

Sites and Remains Certain

anCient

monuments, etc.,

deemed ^{to be}pro— tected monuments ^orareas Power

of

Government ^to

declare anCient monuments etc, ^tobe

protected

monuments^and

areas Protected monuments Acquisxtion ^of

rights ^ina

protected

monument. Preservation of

protected

monument

by agreement Owners under

disability ^ornotin

posseSSion Application ^oiendowment ^to

repair ^a

protected

monu- ment Failure or refusal to

enter ^intoan

agreement Power to make order

prohibiting

contravention

of agreement

under

section⁶ Enforcement ^of

agreement Purchasers ^atcertain sales and

persons claiming through

owner bound ^by

instrument executed

by owner, AcquiSition ^of

protected

monuments _ Maintenance ^ofcertain

protected

monuments Voluntary

contributions Protection ^of

place ^of

worship ^frommisuse,

pollution or desecration.

17.

18.

19

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27

28.

29.

30.

31.

32

33.

34

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

189

Relinquishment ^of

Government

rights ^{m a}

monument Right ^of

access^to

protected

monuments Protected

areas Restrictions of

enjoyment

of

property rights ⁱⁿ

pro- tected areas Power ^to

acqu1re ^a

protected ^area Archaeological

excavations Excavations ⁱⁿ

protected

areas Excavation ⁱⁿ

areas other^than

protected

areas. Compulsory purchase ^of

antiquities,

etc.,

discovered during

excavation

operations Excavation,

etc., ^for

archaeological purposes. Protection of

antiquities Power of Government to control

movmg of anti- quities

Purchase of

antiquities by

Government. Principles ^of

compensation Compensation ^forlossor

damage Assessment ^of

market value ^or

compensation. Miscellaneous Delegation ^ofpowers Penalties

Jurisdiction to

try

offences Certain offences to be

cognizable SpeCial prOViSion

regarding

fine. Recovery ^ofamounts ^duetothe

Government Anc1ent

monuments, etc,

no

longer requiring pro— tection

Power to correct

mistakes,

etc Protection of action

taken under

the Act Power to make rules Repeal.

2

190

THE KERALA ANCIENT

MONUMENTS AND

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND

REMAINS

ACT,

1968 ^* (Act ^26of

1969)

An Act to

provide

for the

preservation

of ancient monu- ments and

archaeological

sites and remains other than those of national

importance,

for the

regulation of

archaeological

excavations and for

the protection ^of

sculptures, carvings ^and other

like

objects Preamble—WHEREAS ^itis

expedient ^to

prov1de ^forthe ureservation of anc1ent monuments and

archaeological

Sites and

remains other than those of national

importance,

for the regulation ^of

archaeological

excavations^{andfor the}

protection of

sculptures, carvmgs

and other like

objects, BE it

enacted in the Nineteenth Year of the

Republic

of indie as follows——

1 Short

title,

extent and

commencement.—(l)

This Act may be called the

Kerala Ancxent Monuments and Archaeo- logical

Sites^andRemains ^{Act, 1968}

(2) ^Itextends^tothewhole^oftheState ^of

Kerala

(3) ^Itshall^comeinto

force ^{onsuchdateasthe}Govern- ment

may, by

notification ¹ⁿ

the

Gazette, appomt

2 Definitions—In

this

Act,

unless

the context otherWise requires,—

(a)

"ancxent monument"

means ^anystructure,

erectxon er

monument. ^or

any tumulus

or

place

of

internment, ^or

any cave,

rock—sculpture,

inscription ^or

monolith,

which^isof historical,

archaeologlcal ^orartistic interest^andwhich ^has been ⁱⁿ

eXistence^{for notless}than ^onehundred vears^and includes—

(1) ^the

remains^{of an}

anCient

monument,

(ii) ^{theSiteof an}anCient

monument, '

Published

in

the Gazette

Exraoidinary

No

150,

dated 27th

June,

1969.

191

(iii) ^such

portion ^ofland

adjoining ^{thesite of an} anoient monument as

may

be

required

for

fencmg

or

covering in or

otherWise preservmg such

monument,

and

(iv) ^themeans^ofaccess

to, ^andconvenient

inspec- tion

of, ^an

anCient

monument, but does ^not

include any ancient or

historical monument declared

by

or under any law

made

by

Parliament to

be of national

importance; (b)

"antiquity"

includes—

(1) any

com,

sculpture, manuscript,

epigraph ^or

other work of art or

craftsmanship,

(ii) any article.

object ^or

thing

detached^{from a}

build- ing ^or

cave.

(iii) any article

object ^or

thing

illustrative^ofseience, art, crafts,

literature,

religion,

customs,

morals^or

politics ⁱⁿ bygone ages

(iv) any article

object ^or

thing ^of

historical

interest, and

(v) any article, object ^or

thing

declared

by ^the Government,

by

notification, ^tobean

antiquity ^{for the}pur— poses of

this

Act, which has been

in

eXistence for not less than one

hundred years, (c)

"archaeological

officer"

means ^an

officer^{of the} Department ^of

Archaeology ^oftheGovernment^notlower ⁱⁿ rank than ^an

epigraphic

aSSistant, (d)

"archaeological

Sites ^andremains" means

any ^area which contains or is

reasonably

believed ^to

contain ruins or relies ^of

historical or

archaeological importance

which^have been ⁱⁿ

eXIStence

for ^not

less than one hundred years, and includes—

(1) ^such

portion ^ofland

adioming ^theareaas

may be

required

for

fencmg ^or

covering ^{in or}

otherwise

preservmg it, ^and

(n) ^the

means^ofaccess ^{to, and}convenient

inspection of. the area,

192

but does not Include any

archaeological

site or remains de— clared

by

or

under any law made

by

Parliament

to he of national

importance; (e)

"Director" means^theDirector ^of

Archaeology ^and includes any officer authorised

by

the Government to exercrsc the powers and

perform

the duties of the Director under this Act;

(f)

"maintain"^{With its}

grammatical

variations^and cognate expressxons, includes^the

fencmg, covering ^in,

repair— mg,

restoring

and

cleansmg

of^a

protected

monument,

and the domg ^ofany ^actwhich^maybenecessary^{for the}purpose^of preserving ^a

protected

monument^orof

securing

convenient access

thereto; (g)

"notificatlon"

means^anotification

published ^{in the} Gazette ;

(h)

"owner"

includes—

(1) ^a

jomt

owner invested^Withpowers^of

management on behalf of himself and other

jomt

owners and the successor- in-title of any such owner; and

(ii) any manager ^ortrustee

exerCismg

powers^of management ^{and the}

successor—in-of'fice^ofany^suchmanager or

trustee; (i)

"prescribed"

means

prescribed by

rules^madeunder this

Act,

(J)

"protected

area" means ^anyarchaeological ^siteand remains which is declared to be a

protected

area

by

or under this

Act; (k)

"protected

monument"

means^an

anCient monument which is declared to be ^a

protected

monument

by ^or

under this Act Protection of Ancient Monuments and

Archaeological sites and remains

3 Certain ancient

monuments,

etc.,

deemed^tobe pro- tected monuments ^or

areas—(1)

All ancient and historical monuments which

have been declared under the Ancient Monuments

Preservation

Act, ¹⁹⁰⁴

(Central ^Act7of

1904) ^or

193

the Travancore Ancient

Monuments Preservation

Act

(I

of 1112) ^{or the}

AnCIent Monuments PreservatIon

Act, ^IXof1110 (Cochm Act) ^tobe

protected

monuments, ^{butthchhavenot} bQI-lh

déelaI'éd

by

or under any law made

by

fiarliament

to be of natIonal

Importance,

shall be deemed

to

be

protected monuments

for

the

purposes

.of

thIs

Act

(2)

Any ^{areaMuchhasbeen}declared under any^of the Acts

SpeCIfied

In sub—sectIon

(1)

to

be

a

protected

area, but whlch

has

not

been declared

by

or

under any

law

made by

Parliament^tobeofnatIonal

Importance, shall, ^Ifsucharea 15 an

archaeologtcal

we and remaIns as defined In thIs

Act. be

deemed to be a

protected

area for

the purposes of thIs Act.

4 Power of Government

to

declare ancient

monuments, etc., ^tobe

protected

monuments^and

areas.—(l)

Where ^the Government are of opInIon that any

anCIent

monument

or archaeologIcal ^{Sue and}remams should^bedeclared^tobea protected

monument^{or a}

protected

area, ^asthecase

may^be, they may, by

notIficatIon, gIve ^twomonths' notIce^oftheIr IntentIon to declare such ancxent monument or

archaeologIcal SIte

and

remaIns to

be

a

protected

monument

or a

protected area, ^asthe^case

may be,

and ^a

copy

of

every such

notIficatton shall be affixed ^Ina

conspIcuous place

near^themonument or SIte and remaIns,

as the ^case

may be

(2)

Any person Interested ^In

any^suchanCIent monu— ment ^or

archaeologIcal

SIte and remaIns

may, w1thIn two months after the Issue^of

the

notIficatIon, object

to the decla- ratIon of the monument

or

the

archaeologlcal

SIte and remams to

be

a

protected

monument

or

protected

area,

as the case may ^be

(3) ^Ontheeprry^ofthesand

perIod ^oftwo

months, ^the Government may, after

conSIderIng ^the

objectIons,

If any. recered

by them,

declare

by

nctIficatIon.

the anCIent monu- ment or the

archaeologxcal

SIte and remams to

be a

protected monument ^ora

protected

area. ^asthe^case

may be

(4) ^A

notIficatIon

pubhshed

under sub-sectIon

(3)

shall. unless ^anduntll^ItIs

Withdrawn, ^beconcluswe

ev1dence ^of the fact that the anCIent monument ^orthe

archaeologIcal

Stte and remams to thch ^It

relates ^Isa

protected

monument or a

protected

area,

as the ^case

may be,

for the purposes of tha- Act.

3 /20—1 ³

194

Protected Monuments

5.

Acquisition

of

rights

in a

protected monument—(1) The Director may, With the sanction of the

Government, purchase, ^ortakealease ^{of, or}

accept ^a

gift ^or

bequest ^of, any protected

monumentr

(2]

Where ^{1

protected

monument ¹⁵Without^an

owner. the Director

may, by notification,

assume the

guardianship

of the monument,

(3) ^Theowner^of

any protected

monument

may, by written

instrument,

constitute the

Director,

the

guardian

of the monument and the

Director may, With the sanction of the Government, accept ^such

guardianship.

(4) ^Whenthe

Director^has

accepted ^the

guardianship ^of a monument

under sub-section

(3),

the owner

shall, except

:15

expressly prOVided ⁱⁿ

this

Act,

have the same

estate.

right, title and interest

in and to the monument ^as

if the Director had not been constituted a

guardian

thereof, ^and

the prOViSions of this Act

relating

to

agreements

executed under section 6 shall

apply

to the

written

instrument executed under ^the

said sub—section,

(5)

Nothtng ^inthissection

shall affect ^theuseofany protected

monument^for

customary religious

Observances.

6

Preservation of

protected

monument

by agreement—-

(1) ^The

Director, ^whensodirected

by ^the

Government,

shall propose ^tothe owner^ofa

protected

monument^toenter^into an

agreement

With the

Government

Within a

speCified period, for the maintenance of

the monument

(2) ^An

agreement

under^thissection

may provide ^for all or

any of the

followmg

matters,

namely ^—

(a) ^themaintenance^{of the}

monument,

(b) ^the

custody ^ofthemonument^{and the}duties^of any person who^maybe

employed ^towatch

it;

(c) ^therestriction^oftheowner's

right—

(i) ^tousethemonument^forany purpose, (it) ^to

charge any^feefor

entry

into. ^or

inspection of, ^the

monument.

195

(1ii) ^to

destroy,

remove, alter^ordeface ^themonu— ment, ^or

(1v) ^tobUlld^{on or nearthesrteof the}monument,

(d) ^thefacrhtles^ofaccess^{to be}

permrtted ^tothe pubhc ^or

any

sectlon thereof^ortothe

Drrector ^{or to}

persons deputed by ^theowner^ortheDrrector^ortheDrstrrct Collector to

Inspect ^or

mamtam the

monument;

(e) ^thenotrce^{to be}glven ^{to the}Government ^{1n case} the land

on

whrch the monument

lS

srtuated or

any adjommg land is offered for sale

by

the owner, and the

rlght

to be reserved to the

Government to

purchase

such

land,

or

any specified

portron ^ofsuch

land, ^{at 1ts}

market

value,

(f) ^the

payment ^ofany expenses 1ncurred

by ^the owner or

by

the

Government 1n connectlon wrth the malnten- ance ol the monument

(g) ^the

proprretory ^orother

rlghts ^{Wthh are to vest} 1n

the Government

1n

respect

of the monument when any expenses ^are

1ncurred

by

the

Government ¹ⁿconnectlon

wrth the mamtenance of the

monument,

(h) ^the

appomtment ^{of an}

authorlty ^todecrde any dlspute

arlsmg ^{outof the}

agreement, ^and

(1) any

matter connected^Withthemamtenance^of the monument whrch rs a

proper subJect

of ^the

agreement between the owner^and

the Government

(3) ^The

Government ^{or the}

owner ^may,at

any ^tlme after ^the

explratlon

of three years from the date ^ofexecutron of an

agreement

under thls

sect1on,

termmate the

agreement on

glvmg

51x months'

not1ce¹ⁿ

wrltmg

to

the other

party Provrded that where the

agreement ^rs

termmated

by the owner, he shall pay ^tothe

Government the expenses, if any, 1ncurred

by

them^onthe malntenance

of the monument dunng ^thefiveyears 1mmed1ately precedlng ^thetermlnatlon ol the

agreement

or, If the

agreement

has been ^In

force for a shorter

perlod,

durmg

the

perrod

the

agreement

was 1n force

(4) ^An

agreement

under^thls

sectlon shall^be

bmdmg on

any person clalmmg

to

be the owner of

the monument

to 3/20 ^{-1 3a}

196

which it

relates, from,

through ^or

under a

party by

whom, 01 on whose

behalf,

the

agreement

was executed

7. Owners under

disability ^ornotin

possession.—(1)

If the owner of a

protected

monument is

unable,

by

reason of infancy ^orother

disability, ^toactfor

himself, ^theperson legally competent ^toactonhisbehalf^may

exerCise^the powers

conferred^{upon an}owner

by

section^6.

(2) ^Inthecaseofa

protected

monument which ^{is a} village property, ^theheadman^orother

Village

officer exerCis- ing powers of

management ^oversuch

property may

exercise the powers conferred upon

an owner

by

section 6.

(3)

Nothing ^inthissection shall^bedeemed^to

empower any person ^not

being

of the ^same

religion ^asthe person ^on whose

behalf he

15

acting

to make or

execute an

agreement relating ^toa

protected

monument which^{or anypart of}

which is

periodically

used for the

religious worship

or

Observances of that

religion

8.

Application

of

endowment to

repair ^a

protected

monu- ment—(1) ^Ifany

owner^orother person competent ^toenter into an

agreement

under section 6 for the maintenance of a protected

monument refuses ^or

fails^toenter ^intosuchan agreement, ^andifany endowment^hasbeencreated ^{for the} purpose of

keeping

such monument ⁱⁿ

repair ^orfor

that pu1pose

among others,

the Government may

institute^{a suit} in the court of the District

Judge.

or if the estimated cost

of repairing ^themonument^{does not}

exceed^onethousand rupees. may make ^an

application ^totheDistrict

Judge,

for ^the

proper application ^{of such}endowment^{or part}

thereof

(2) ^Onthe

hearmg ^ofan

application

under sub—section (1), ^theDistrict

Judge may

summon^andexamine^theowner and any person whose evtdence appears ^tohimnecessary and may

pass ^anorder for

the proper

application

of the endow- ment ^orof any part thereof,

and any such order may be executed as it'^itwerea

decree

of³mm! court.

9 Failure ^orrefusal^toenter into an

agreement.—(l)

If any

owner^orother person

competent ^to

enter into^an

agree- ment under section 6 for the maintenance

of a

protected monument refuses ^or

fails^toenter^intosuch^an

agreement,

197

the

Government may make an order

prov1ding

for all

or

any of the matters

speCified

in

sub—section

(2)

of

section

6,

and such order shall be

binding

on the owner or such other person and on

every person claiming

title to the monument

from, through ^or

under, ^the

owner^{or such}other person.

(2)

Where^an

order^made

under sub-section

(1)

prov1des that

the monument shall be

maintained

by

the

owner or other person

competent ^toenter^intoan

agreement,

all reasonable expenses for the maintenance^of

the monument shall

be pay- able

by

the Government

(3) ^No

order under

sub-section

(1)

shall ^bemadeunless the owner or

other person has been

given

an

opportunity

of making ^a

representation ⁱⁿ

writing against ^the

proposed order

10. Power to make

order

prohibiting

contravention ^ot agreement

under section

6.—(1) ^IftheDirector

apprehends that the owner

or

occupier of a

protected

monument intends to

destroy,

remove, alter,

deface,

imperil

or misuse the monu— ment or to

build

on

or near the Site thereof

in

contravention of the terms

of

an

agreement

executed under section

6,

the Director may. after

giVing

the

owner

or

occupier

an

opportu— nity ^of

making ^a

representation ⁱⁿ

writing, ^{make an}

order prohibiting ^anysuchcontravention^{of the}

agreement:

Prov1ded that no such

opportunity

need

be

given

in any ^casewhere the

Diiector,

[or reasons^tobe

recorded, ^is satisfied that it ^isnot

expedient ^or

practicable ^{to doso}

(2)

Any person aggrieved by ^an

order

under^this section

may appeal

to the

Government

Within such time and in such manner as

may be

prescribed

and the

deCiSion of the Government on the

appeal

shall

be final

11

Enforcement of

agreement.—(l)

If an owner or

other person who^isbound

by ^an

agreement

for the maintenance of ^a

monument under section⁶

refuses ^or

fails,

Within such reasonable time ^as

the Director may fix, ^to

do any

act which in the opinion of the Director ^is

necessary for the maintenance of ^the

monument, ^theDirector may authorise any

person ^to do any such

Act, ^andtheowner^orother person shall be liable to

pay

the

expenses of

dOing

any such Act^orsuch

portion

of the expenses ^asthe owner

may^beliable^to

pay under

the agreement.

198

(2) ^1fany dispute

arises

regarding ^theamount^otex- penses payable by

the owner^orother person under

sub—sec— tion

(1),

it shall be

referred to the Government whose

deCiSion thereon shall be final.

12 Purchasers at

certain sales and persons claiming through

owner bound ^by

instrument executed ^by

owner.— Every person^who

purchases, ^atasaleforarrears^ofland revenue or

any other

public

demand, any land ^onwhich is Situated a monument in

respect

of which any

instrument has been ⁹⁾

ecuted

by ^theowner for

the^time

being

under section 5 or section

6,

and

every

person claiming any title to ^amonu— ment

fiom,

through

or

under,

an owner who executed any such

instrument,

shall be bound

by

such

instrument

199

16.

Protection

of

place ^of

worship ^from

misuse,

pollution or

desecration—(1)

A

protected

monument maintained

by

the Government under this

Act,

which^Isa

place

of

worship ^or shrme shall^not

be ^usedforany purpose

mconastent^With its

character.

(2)

Where^theGovernment^have

acqu1red ^a

prqtected monument under section

13, ^orwhere the Director has

\pur- chased ^ortaken^alease^or

accepted ^a

g1ft ^or

bequest ^or assumed

guardianship

of, ^a

protected

monument under

section 5, ^andsuchmonument ^or

any part

thereof ^{15 usedfor}

religious worship ^or

observations

by any communlty, ^theDistrict Collector shall

make ^duepr0v1510n for ^the

protection ^ofsuch monument or

part thereof,

from

pollution ^or

desecration,— (a)

by

prohibiting ^the

entry therein, except ¹ⁿaccord— ance With the

conditions

prescribed

With the concurrence of the persons, ^ifany,

1n

religious

charge

of the^said

monument or

part thereof,

of any

person

not ent1tled

so to enter

by

the religious usage ^ofthe

community^by

which ^themonument or

part

thereof

is

used,

or (b)

by

taking ^suchother action ^ashemay think necessary ⁱⁿ

this behalf.

17

Relinquishment

of Government

rights

in ^a

monu- ment.——W1th the sanction of the

Government,

the

Director may,—

(a)

where

rights ^havebeen

acquired by ^theDirector in

respect

of

any

monument under this Act

by

Virtue of any sale, lease,

gift ^or

Will,

relinquish,

by

notification, ^the

rights so

acquired,

to the person

who

would,

for the t1me

being, be the owner of the monument if such

rights

had not

been acquired; ^or (b)

relinquish

any guardianship ^ofamonument which he has assumed under this Act.

18

Right

of Quecess ^to

protected

monuments.—Sub1ect to

any rules made under

this

Act the

public

shall have a

right )f access to

any protected

monuments. Protected Areas

19 Restrictions of

enjoyment

of

property

rights

in pro- tected

areas.—(1) ^Noperson, including ^theowner^or

occupier