188 THE KERALA ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS ACT, 1969 (Act 26 of 1969) CONTENTS Preamble.
Sections 1 Short title, extent and commencement 2 Definitions Protection of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological 904mm
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15 16 Sites and Remains Certain anCient monuments, etc., deemed to be pro— tected monuments or areas Power of Government to declare anCient monuments etc, to be protected monuments and areas Protected monuments Acquisxtion of rights in a protected monument.
Preservation of protected monument by agreement Owners under disability or not in posseSSion Application oi endowment to repair a protected monument Failure or refusal to enter into an agreement Power to make order prohibiting contravention of agreement under section 6 Enforcement of agreement Purchasers at certain sales and persons claiming through owner bound by instrument executed by owner, AcquiSition of protected monuments _ Maintenance of certain protected monuments Voluntary contributions Protection of place of worship from misuse, pollution or desecration.
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189 Relinquishment of Government rights m a monument Right of access to protected monuments Protected areas Restrictions of enjoyment of property rights in protected 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 antiquities Purchase of antiquities by Government.
Principles of compensation Compensation for loss or damage Assessment of market value or compensation.
Miscellaneous Delegation of powers Penalties Jurisdiction to try offences Certain offences to be cognizable SpeCial prOViSion regarding fine.
Recovery of amounts due to the 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.
190 THE KERALA ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS ACT, 1968 * (Act 26 of 1969) An Act to provide for the preservation of ancient monuments 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 it is expedient to prov1de for the ureservation of anc1ent monuments and archaeological Sites and remains other than those of national importance, for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for 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 Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1968
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification 1n the Gazette, appomt 2 Definitions—In this Act, unless the context otherWise requires,—
(a) "ancxent monument" means any structure, erectxon er monument. or any tumulus or place of internment, or any cave, rock—sculpture, inscription or monolith, which is of historical, archaeologlcal or artistic interest and which has been in eXistence for not less than one hundred vears and includes—
(1) the remains of an anCient monument,
(ii) the Site of an anCient monument, ' Published in the Gazette Exraoidinary No 150, dated 27th June, 1969.
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(iii) such portion of land adjoining the site of an anoient monument as may be required for fencmg or covering in or otherWise preservmg such monument, and
(iv) the means of access to, and convenient inspection 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 building or cave.
(iii) any article object or thing illustrative of seience, 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, to be an 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 of the Government not lower in rank than an epigraphic aSSistant,
(d) "archaeological Sites and remains" 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 of land adioming the area as may be required for fencmg or covering in or otherwise preservmg it, and
(n) the means of access 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 the Director 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 of any act which may be necessary for the purpose of preserving a protected monument or of securing convenient access thereto;
(g) ”notificatlon" means a notification published in the Gazette ;
(h) "owner” includes—
(1) a jomt owner invested With powers of management on behalf of himself and other jomt owners and the successorin-title of any such owner; and
(ii) any manager or trustee exerCismg powers of management and the successor—in-of‘fice of any such manager or trustee;
(i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act, (J) "protected area" means any archaeological site and 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 to be protected monuments or areas—(1) All ancient and historical monuments which have been declared under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 (Central Act 7 of 1904) or 193 the Travancore Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (I of 1112) or the AnCIent Monuments PreservatIon Act, IX of 1110 (Cochm Act) to be protected monuments, but thch have not 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 area Much has been 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 to be of natIonal Importance, shall, If such area 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., to be protected monuments and areas.—(l) Where the Government are of opInIon that any anCIent monument or archaeologIcal Sue and remams should be declared to be a protected monument or a protected area, as the case may be, they may, by notIficatIon, gIve two months’ notIce of theIr IntentIon to declare such ancxent monument or archaeologIcal SIte and remaIns to be a protected monument or a protected area, as the case may be, and a copy of every such notIficatton shall be affixed In a conspIcuous place near the monument or SIte and remaIns, as the case may be
(2) Any person Interested In any such anCIent monu— ment or archaeologIcal SIte and remaIns may, w1thIn two months after the Issue of the notIficatIon, object to the declaratIon of the monument or the archaeologlcal SIte and remams to be a protected monument or protected area, as the case may be
(3) On the eprry of the sand perIod of two months, the Government may, after conSIderIng the objectIons, If any.
recered by them, declare by nctIficatIon. the anCIent monument or the archaeologxcal SIte and remams to be a protected monument or a protected area. as the case may be
(4) A notIficatIon pubhshed under sub-sectIon (3) shall.
unless and untll It Is Withdrawn, be concluswe ev1dence of the fact that the anCIent monument or the archaeologIcal Stte and remams to thch It relates Is a 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, or take a lease of, or accept a gift or bequest of, any protected monumentr (2] Where {1 protected monument 15 Without an owner.
the Director may, by notification, assume the guardianship of the monument,
(3) The owner 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) When the 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 in this section shall affect the use of any protected monument for customary religious Observances.
6 Preservation of protected monument by agreement—-
(1) The Director, when so directed by the Government, shall propose to the owner of a protected monument to enter into an agreement With the Government Within a speCified period, for the maintenance of the monument
(2) An agreement under this section may provide for all or any of the followmg matters, namely —
(a) the maintenance of the monument,
(b) the custody of the monument and the duties of any person who may be employed to watch it;
(c) the restriction of the owner’s right—
(i) to use the monument for any purpose,
(it) to charge any fee for entry into. or inspection of, the monument.
195 (1ii) to destroy, remove, alter or deface the monu— ment, or (1v) to bUlld on or near the srte of the monument,
(d) the facrhtles of access to be permrtted to the pubhc or any sectlon thereof or to the Drrector or to persons deputed by the owner or the Drrector or the Drstrrct Collector to Inspect or mamtam the monument;
(e) the notrce 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 of such land, at 1ts market value,
(f) the payment of any expenses 1ncurred by the owner or by the Government 1n connectlon wrth the malntenance ol the monument
(g) the proprretory or other rlghts Wthh are to vest 1n the Government 1n respect of the monument when any expenses are 1ncurred by the Government 1n connectlon wrth the mamtenance of the monument,
(h) the appomtment of an authorlty to decrde any dlspute arlsmg out of the agreement, and
(1) any matter connected With the mamtenance 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 of executron of an agreement under thls sect1on, termmate the agreement on glvmg 51x months’ not1ce 1n wrltmg to the other party Provrded that where the agreement rs termmated by the owner, he shall pay to the Government the expenses, if any, 1ncurred by them on the malntenance of the monument dunng the five years 1mmed1ately precedlng the termlnatlon 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 or not in possession.—(1) If the owner of a protected monument is unable, by reason of infancy or other disability, to act for himself, the person legally competent to act on his behalf may exerCise the powers conferred upon an owner by section 6.
(2) In the case of a protected monument which is a village property, the headman or other Village officer exerCising powers of management over such property may exercise the powers conferred upon an owner by section 6.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to empower any person not being of the same religion as the person on whose behalf he 15 acting to make or execute an agreement relating to a protected monument which or any part of which is periodically used for the religious worship or Observances of that religion
8. Application of endowment to repair a protected monument—(1) If any owner or other person competent to enter into an agreement under section 6 for the maintenance of a protected monument refuses or fails to enter into such an agreement, and if any endowment has been created for the purpose of keeping such monument in repair or for that pu1pose among others, the Government may institute a suit in the court of the District Judge. or if the estimated cost of repairing the monument does not exceed one thousand rupees.
may make an application to the District Judge, for the proper application of such endowment or part thereof
(2) On the hearmg of an application under sub—section
(1), the District Judge may summon and examine the owner and any person whose evtdence appears to him necessary and may pass an order for the proper application of the endowment or of any part thereof, and any such order may be executed as it' it were a decree of 3 mm! court.
9 Failure or refusal to enter into an agreement.—(l) If any owner or other person competent to enter into an agreement under section 6 for the maintenance of a protected monument refuses or fails to enter into such 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 to enter into an agreement, all reasonable expenses for the maintenance of the monument shall be payable by the Government
(3) No order under sub-section (1) shall be made unless 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) If the Director 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 any such contravention of the agreement:
Prov1ded that no such opportunity need be given in any case where the Diiector, [or reasons to be recorded, is satisfied that it is not expedient or practicable to do so
(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 is bound by an agreement for the maintenance of a monument under section 6 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, the Director may authorise any person to do any such Act, and the owner or other person shall be liable to pay the expenses of dOing any such Act or such portion of the expenses as the owner may be liable to pay under the agreement.
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(2) 1f any dispute arises regarding the amount ot expenses payable by the owner or other 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, at a sale for arrears of land revenue or any other public demand, any land on which is Situated a monument in respect of which any instrument has been 9) ecuted by the owner for the time being under section 5 or section 6, and every person claiming any title to a monu— ment fiom, through or under, an owner who executed any such instrument, shall be bound by such instrument 13 Acquisition of protected monuments—If the Govern— ment apprehend that a protected monument is in danger of being destroyed, injured, misused or allowed to fall into decay, they may acquire the protected monument under the prom- Sions of the Kerala Land Acqu151tion Act, 1961 (21 of 1962), as if the maintenance of the protected monument were a public purpose Within the meaning of that Act 14 Maintenance of certain protected monuments—(1) The Government shall maintain every monument which has been acquired under section 13 or in respect of which any of the rights mentioned in section 5 have been acquired (21 When the Director has assumed the guardianship of a monument under section 5, he shall for the purpose of maintaining such monument, have access to the monument at all reasonable times, by himself and by his agents, subor— dinates and workmen. for the purpose of inspecting the monument and for the purpose of bringing such materials and domg such acts as he may conSider necessary or deSirable for the maintenance thereof 15 Voluntary contributions.—The Director may receive voluntary contribution towards the cost of maintaining a protected monument and give orders as to the management and application of any funds so received by him Prowded that no contribution received under this section shall be applied to any purpose other than the purpose for which it was contributed.
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16. Protection of place of worship from misuse, pollution or desecration—(1) A protected monument maintained by the Government under this Act, which Is a place of worship or shrme shall not be used for any purpose mconastent With its character.
(2) Where the Government have acqu1red a prqtected monument under section 13, or where the Director has \purchased or taken a lease or accepted a g1ft or bequest or assumed guardianship of, a protected monument under section 5, and such monument or any part thereof 15 used for religious worship or observations by any communlty, the District Collector shall make due pr0v1510n for the protection of such monument or part thereof, from pollution or desecration,—
(a) by prohibiting the entry therein, except 1n accord— ance With the conditions prescribed With the concurrence of the persons, if any, 1n religious charge of the said monument or part thereof, of any person not ent1tled so to enter by the religious usage of the community by which the monument or part thereof is used, or
(b) by taking such other action as he may think necessary in this behalf.
17 Relinquishment of Government rights in a monument.——W1th the sanction of the Government, the Director may,—
(a) where rights have been acquired by the Director 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 of a monument 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 protected areas.—(1) No person, including the owner or occupier