Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958

The petitioner, Rajeev Mankotia, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking protection of the Viceregal Lodge in Shimla as an ancient monument of national importance, opposing the Union Government's plan to convert it into a tourist hotel. The Court examined the definition of "ancient monument" and the duties of th…

The appellant Department of Customs appealed against the discharge of Sharad Gandhi, who was accused of attempting to export a sand‑stone Buddha head classified as an antiquity. The prosecution relied on Sections 132 and 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 for false declaration and fraudulent evasion of a prohibition. T…

The appellants, professional tourist guides, held identity cards issued by the Department of Tourism that permitted them to charge visitors for guiding services. Clause 17 of the governing instructions stipulated that the identity card would not be renewed once a guide turned 60 years old, leading to the denial of rene…

The petitioners challenged the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's 2017 Notification and the 2021 Office Memorandum, which sought to grant ex post facto environmental clearances for projects that had commenced without prior clearance under the 2006 EIA Notification. The Court examined whether such retr…

The Supreme Court examined whether Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, is a protected monument and whether the 1992 notification declaring a 100‑metre prohibited area around it applies to a plot where the respondents sought to construct a multistoried building. The Court held that the 1956 notification declaring Jantar Mantar a …

The Supreme Court considered an appeal by Sanjay Kumar Manjul against a High Court order that had allowed Dr. S. Rajavelu’s writ petition challenging his exclusion from the UPSC’s direct recruitment for the post of Superintending Archaeologist. The dispute centered on whether field experience in Epigraphy satisfied the…

The petitioners sought contempt proceedings against the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other authorities, alleging that they violated the Supreme Court's order dated 16 January 2012 which barred any construction within 100 metres of the protected monument Jantar Mantar. The Court exami…

A public‑interest litigation was filed in the Orissa High Court challenging the construction of toilets, drains, electricity rooms and other amenities within the prohibited area of the Shree Jagannath Temple complex, alleging violation of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. The High Co…

The Supreme Court heard a public‑interest writ petition seeking the cancellation of a mining lease and a ban on mining within one kilometre of the 16th‑century Jambunatha Temple, a protected monument in Karnataka. The petition challenged mining activities that were alleged to have caused structural damage to the temple…