The Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964

1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- 605 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS THE PUNJAB ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS AСТ, 1964. SECTION. (PUNJAB Аст 20 оF 1964) Arrangement of Sections PRELIMINARY 1. Short title, extent and commencement. 2. Definitions. PROTECTION OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCH- AEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS 3. 4. Certain ancient and historical monuments, etc., deem- ed to be protected monuments or areas. Power of Government to declare ancient monuments etc. to be protected monuments and areas. PROTECTED MONUMENTS 5. Acquisition of rights in a protected monument. 6. Preservation of protected monument by agreement. 7. Persons competent to exercise powers of owner under section 6 in respect of a protected monument, when owner is under disability or when it is a village property. 8. Application of endowment to repair a protected monument. 9. Failure or refusal to enter into an agreement. 10. Power to make order prohibiting contravention of agreement under section 6. 11. Enforcement of agreements. 12. Purchasers at certain sales and persons claiming through owner bound by instrument executed by owner. 13. Acquisition of protected monuments. 14. Maintenance of certain protected monuments. 15. Voluntary contributions. 16. Protection of place of worship from misuse, pollution or desecration. 606 ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- [1964 : Pb. Act 20 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS 17. Relinquishment of Government rights in a monument. 18. Rights of access to protected monuments. PROTECTED AREAS 19. Restrictions on enjoyment of property rights protected areas. 20. Power to acquire protected areas ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS 21. Excavations in protected areas. 22. Excavations in areas other than protected areas. in 23. Compulsory purchase of antiquities, etc., discovered during excavation operations. 24. Excavation, etc., for archaeological purposes. PROTECTION OF ANTIQUITIES 25. Power of Government to control moving of antiquities. 26. Purchase of antiquities by Government. PRINCIPLES OF COMPENSATION 27. Compensation for loss or damage. 28. Assessment of market value or compensation. 29. Delegations. 30. Penalties. MISCELLANEOUS 31. Jurisdiction to try offences. 32. Certain offences to be cognizable. 33. Special provision regarding fine. 34. Recovery of amounts due to the Government. 35. Ancient monuments, etc., no longer requiring protec- tion. 36. Power to correct mistake, etc. 37. Protection of action taken under the Act. 38. Power to make rules. 39. Repeal, 1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- 607 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS 'THE PUNJAB ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS ACT, 1964. Punjab Act No. 20 of 1964. [Received the assent of the President of India on the 19th May, 1964 and first published for general inform- ation in the Punjab Government Gazette (Extraordi- nary), Legislative Supplement of the 1st June, 1964.] 1 2 3 4 Year No. Short title Whether affected by Legislation 1964 20 The Punjab Ancient and Historical Monu- ments and Archaeologi- cal Sites and Rema ins Act, 1964 Amended by Punjab Act 25 of 1964.2 Amended by the Adaptation Punjab Laws Order, 1970. of AN ACT to provide for the preservation of ancient and historical 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. BE it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Punjab in the Fifteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows :- PRELIMINARY 1. (1) This Act may be called the Punjab An- Short title, ex- cient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological tent and com.mencement. Sites and Remains Act, 1964. 1For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Punjab Government Gazette (Extraordinary), 1964, page 312. 2For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Punjab Government Gazette (Extraordinary), 1964, page 935-937. Definitions. 608 [1964: Pb. Act 20ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Punjab. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may by notification appoint. 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise re- quires,- (a) 'ancient and historical monument' means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of internment, or any cave, rock-sculpture, inscription or monolith, which is of historical, archaeological or artis- tic interest and which has been in existence for not less than one hundred years and includes- (i) the remains of an ancient and historical monument, (ii) the site of an ancient and historical mo- nument, (iii) such portion of land-adjoining the site of an ancient and historical monument as may be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise preserving such monument, and (iv) the means of access to, and convenient inspection of, an ancient and historical monument ; but does not include any ancient or histori- cal monument declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of na- tional importance; (b) 'antiquity' includes- (i) any coin, sculpture, manuscript, epi- graph, or other work of art or crafts- manship, (ii) any article, object or thing detached from a building or cave, 1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS 609 (iii) any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs, morals or politics in by gone 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 purposes of this Act, which has been in existence for not less than one hundred years; (c) 'archaeological officer' means an officer of the Government appointed for the pur- pose of exercising the powers conferred on, and performing the functions assigned to, an archaeological officer under this Act, and includes any other officer authorised by the Government to exercise and per- form all or any of such powers and func- tions; (d) (e) 'archaeological site and remains' means any area which contains or is reasonably believed to contain ruins or relics of histo- rical or archaeological importance which have been in existence for not less than one hundred years, and includes- (i) such portion of land adjoining the area as may be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise preserving it, and (i) the means of access to, and convenient inspection of, the area ; but does not include any archaeological site or remains declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of national importance; 'Director' means the Director of Archaeo- logy and includes any officer authorised by the Government to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Director under this Act; 610 ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- [1964 : Pb. Act 20 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS (f) 'Government' means the Government of Punjab; (g) 'maintain', with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, includes the fenc- ing, covering in, repairing, restoring and cleansing of a protected monument, and the doing of any act which may be neces- sary for the purpose of preserving a pro- tected monument or of securing conve- nient access thereto; (h) 'owner' includes - (i) a joint owner invested with powers of management on behalf of himself and other joint owners and the successor- in-title of any such owner; and (ii) any manager or truştee exercising powers of management and the successor-in- office of any such manager or trustee; (i) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this Act; a (j) 'protected area' means any archaeological site and remains which is declared to be protected area by or under this Act; (k) 'protected monument' means an ancient or historical monument which is declared to be a protected monument by or under this Act. PROTECTION OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS Certain ancient 3. All ancient and historical monuments and all and historical monuments etc. archaeological sites and remains which have been deemed to be declared by the Ancient Monuments Preservation protected monu- ments or areas. Act, 1904 (Central Act VII of 1904), to be protected 1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- 611 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS monuments or protected areas respectively, but whichhave not been declared by or under the law made byParliament to be of national importance, shall bedeemed to be ancient and historical monuments orarchaeological sites and remains declared to be pro-tected monuments or areas for the purposes of thisAct. 4. (1) Where the Government is of opinion Power of Gov-ernment to dec-that any ancient and historical monument or archaeo- lalare ancient mo-logical site and remains, which has not been declared numents etc. tobe protectedby or under the law made by Parliament to be of na-nonuments andtional importance and which is not included in section areas.3 requires protection under this Act, it may by notifi-cation give two months' notice of its intention to dec-lare such ancient and historical monument or archaeо-logical site and remains to be a protected monument or a protected area as the case may be, and a copy ofevery such notification shall be affixed in a conspi- cuous place near the monument or the site and remains, as the case may be. (2) Any person interested in any such ancient andhistorical monument or archaeological site and re- mains may, within two months after the issue of thenotification under sub-section (1), object to the decla- ration of the monument, or the archaeological site and remains, to be a protected monument or a protec-ted area. (3) On the expiry of the said period of two months the Government may, after considering the objec-tions, if any, received by it, declare by notification the ancient and historical monument or the archaeological site and remains, as the case may be, to be a protected monument or a protected area. (4) A notification published under sub-section (3) shall, unless and until it is withdrawn, be conclu-sive evidence of the fact that the ancient and histori- cal monument or the archaeological site and remains to which it relates is a protected monument or a pro- tected area for the purposes of this Act. Acquisition of rights in aa pro tected monu- ment. Preservation protected monu- ment by agree- ment. 612 ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MO NU- [1964 : Pb. Act 20 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOG ICAL SITES AND REMAINS PROTECTED MONUMENT S 5. (1) The Director may, with the sanction of the Government, purchase, or take a lease of, or ас- cept a gift or bequest of, a ny protected monument. (2) Where a protected mon ument is without an owner, the Director may by notification assume the guardianship of the monument . (3) The owner of any protec ted monument may, by written instrument, constitute the Director the guardian of the monument, a nd the Director may, with the sanction of the Government, accept such guardianship. (4) When the Director has accepted the guardian- ship of a monument under su b-section (3), the owner shall, except as expressly p rovided in this Act, have the same estate, right, ti tle and interest in and to the monument as if the Di rector had not been const ituted a guardian thereof ; and the provisions of this Act relating to agreements e xecuted under section 6 shall apply to the written in strument executed u nder sub- section (3). (5) Nothing in this section shal l affect the use of any protected monume nt for customary religio us ob- servances. of 6. (1) The Director, when so directed by the Government, shall propose to the owner of a protec - ted monument to enter into an a greement with the Government within a specified period fo r the main- tenance of the monument. (2) An agreement under this section mav pro- vide for all or any of the following 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; 1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- 613 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS (c) the restriction of the owner's right- (i) to use the monument for any purpose, (ii) to charge any fee for entry into, or inspec- tion of, the monument, (iii) to destroy, remove, alter or deface the monument, or (iv) to build on or near the site of the monu- ment; (d) (e) the facilities of access to be permitted to the public or any section thereof or to archaeological officers or to persons deput- ed by the owner or any archaeological offi- cer or other officer or authority authorised by the Government to inspect or maintain the monuments; the notice to be given to the Government in case the land on which the monument is situated or any adjoining land is offered for sale by the owner, and the right to be re- served to the Government to purchase such land, or any specified portion of such land, at its market value; (f) the payment of any expenses incurred by the owner or by the Government in con- nection with the maintenance of the monu- ment; (g) the proprietary or other rights which are to vest in the Government in respect of the monument when any expenses are incur- red by the Government in connection with the maintenance of the monument ; (h) the appointment of an authority to decide any dispute arising out of the agreement; and (i) any matter connected with the maintenance of the monument which is a proper subject 614 ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- [1964 : Pb. Act 20 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS of agreement between the owner and the Government. (3) The Government or the owner may, at any time after the expiration of three years from the date of execution of any agreement under this section, ter- minate it on giving six months' notice in writing to the other party: Provided that where the agreement is termi- nated by the owner, he shall pay to the Government the expenses, if any, incurred by it on the maintenance of the monument during the five years immediately preced- ing the termination of the agreement or, if the agreement has been in force for a short- er period, during the period the agreement was in force. (4) An agreement under this section shall be binding on any person claiming to be the owner of the monument to which it relates, from, through or under a party by whom or on whose behalf the agreement was executed. Persons compe- 7. (1) If the owner of a protected monument istent to exercise powers of owner unable, by reason of minority or other disability, to under section 6 act for himself, the person legally competent to act on in respect of a protected monu- his behalf may exercise the powers conferred upon an ment, when own- owner by section 6. er is under dis- ability or when it is a village property. (2) In the case of a protected monument which is a village property, the Panchayat for the village where such property vests in the Panchayat or, where such property does not vest in Panchayat, any 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 is acting to make or 1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- 615 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS execute an agreement relating to a protected monu- ment which or any part of which is periodically used for the religious worship or observances of that reli- gion. endowment to8. (1) If any owner or other person competent Application of to enter into an agreement under section 6 for the repair a protect- maintenance of a protected monument refuses or fails ed monument. to enter into such an agreement, and if any endow- ment has been created for the purpose of keeping such monument in repair or for that purpose among others, the Government may institute a suit in the court of the District Judge or, if the estimated cost of repair- ing 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 hearing of an application under sub- section (1), the District Judge may, summon and exa- mine the owner and any person whose evidence ap- pears to him necessary and may pass an order for the proper application of the endowment or any part thereof, and any such order may be executed as if it were a decree of a civil court. an agreement. 9. (1) If any owner or other person competent to Failure or refu- enter into an agreement under section 6 for the main- sal to enter into tenance of a protected monument refuses or fails to enter into such an agreement, the Government may make an order providing 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 per- son. (2) Where an order made under sub-section (1) provides that the monument shall be maintained by the owner or other person competent to enter into an agreement, all reasonable expenses for the mainte- nance of the monument shall be payable by the Gov- ernment. Power to make order prohibiting contravention of agreement under section 6. Enforcement agreements. 616 ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- [1964 : Pb. Act 20 MF TS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES A ND REMAINS (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. (1) If the Director apprehends that the owner or occupier of a protected monument intends to destroy, remove, alter, deface, imperil, or misuse the monument or to build on or near the site thereof in contravention of the terms of an agreement execu- ted under section 6, the Director may, after giving the owner or occupier an opportunity of making a repre- sentation in writing, make an order prohibiting any such contravention of the agreement : Provided that no such opportunity may be given in any case where the Director, for reasons to be recorded, is satisfied that it is not expedient or practicable to do so. (2) Any person aggrieved by an order made 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 shall be final. of 11. (1) If an owner or other person who is bound to maintain a monument by an agreement executed under section 6 refuses or fails, within such reason- able 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 pa y the ex- penses of doing any such act or such portion of the expenses as the owner may be liable t o pay under the agreement. (2) If any dispute arises regarding the amount of expenses payable by the owner or other person under sub-section (1), it shall be referred to the Government whose decision on such reference shall be final. 1964: Pb. Act 20] ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONU- 617 MENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS 12. Every person who purchases, at a sale for Purchasers atcertain sales and arrears of land revenue or any other public demand, persons claiming any land on which is situated a monument in respect ush ownerthrough of which any instrument has been executed by the trument execu- owner for the time being under section 5 or section 6, ted by owner. and every person claiming any title to a monument from, through, or under, an owner who executed any such instrument shall be bound by such instrument. 13. If the Government apprehends that a pro- Acquisition of protected monu- tected monument is in danger of being destroyed, in- ments. jured, misused or allowed to fall into decay, it may acquire the protected monument under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Central Act I of 1894), as if the maintenance of the protected monu- ment were a public purpose within the meaning of that Act. Maintenance of 14. (1) The Government shall maintain every certain protected monument which has been acquired under section 13 monuments. or in respect of which any of the rights mentioned in section 5 have been acquired. (2) When the Director has assumed the guardian- ship 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 agent, subordinates and workmen, for the pur- pose of inspecting the monument and for the purpose of bringing such materials and doing such acts as he may consider necessary or desirable for the maintenance thereof. tributions.15. The Director may receive voluntary contribu- Voluntary tions towards the cost of maintaining a protected monu- ment and may give such general or special directions as he considers necessary for the management and ap- plication of the contributions so received by him : Provided that no contribution received under this section shall be applied to any purpose other than the purpose for which it was contributed. con-