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1997(6) Supreme 184
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
K. Ramaswamy, G.B. Pattanaik, J.
Rajeev Mankotia -Petitioner
versus
The Secretary to the President of India & Ors. -Respondents
Writ Petition (C) No. 862 of 1990
Decided on 27-3-1997
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Petitioner, Mr. Sudarash Menon, Advocate.
For the Respondents, Mr. V.R. Reddy, Additional Solicitor General, Mr. A. Subba Rao, Ms. Anil Katiyar, Mr. Y.P. Mahajan, Mr.N.K. Sharma, Mr. V.K. Verma, Advocates.
Held that as soon as the Indian Institute of Advance Studies vacates the building and hands it over to the Archaeological Department, the Government should provide the necessary budget for effecting repairs and restoring to the building its natural beauty and grandeur. It is also necessary that its proper maintenance and preservation is undertaken as an on-going process to protect the historical heritage and needed repairs are effected from time to time. We avail this opportunity to direct the Government of India to maintain all national monuments under the respective Acts referred to above and to ensure that all of them are properly maintained so that the cultural and historical heritage of India and the beauty and grandeur of the monuments, sculptures secured through breathless and passionate labour workmenship, craftsmanship and the skills of the Indian architects, artists and masons is continued to be preserved. They are pride of Indians and places of public visit. The tourist visitors should be properly regulated collection of funds by way of admission/entrance fee should be conscientiously accounted for and utilised for their upkeep and maintenance under respect regulations/rules. Adequate annual budgetary provisions should be provided. In this behalf, it may not be out of place to mention that if one goes to Williamsburg in United States of America, the first settlement of the Britishers therein is preserved as a tourist resort and though it is one in the row, its originality is maintained and busying business activity goes on in and around the area attracting daily hundreds of tourists from all over the world. Similar places of interest, though of recent orign, need to be preserved and maintained as manifestation of our cultural heritage or historical evidence. Similar efforts should also be made by the Government of India, in particular the Tourism Department, to attract foreign tourists and to give them good account of our past and glory of the people of India as message to other countries and territories. Equally and the State Governments would do well vis-a-vis monuments of State important, though given power under Entry 12, List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. (Para 17)
ORDER
Viceregal Lodge at Shimla is a harbinger of Colonial past, with architecturally grandeur and beauty of Elizabethian Era and stands a mute witness to the transition of independency to the people of India after sustained non-violent struggle by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhiji. Three historical meetings between Colonial administration and the Indian leaders took place to discuss the issue of the Indian independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhiji, vis., (i) in June-July 1946 - the historical Cabinet Mission of the Indian leaders; (ii) in May-June 1947; and (iii) the final one wherein historical decision was taken by Louis Mountbatten for transition of the power conveying the proposal to the Indian leaders through Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru; that was followed by grant of independence to the nation and the worst holocaust of communal disturbance due to partition of the great ancient nation into India, i.e., Bharat, and Pakistan.
2. The journey of Simla, Summer Capital of the Supreme Government, started in 1827 by the first Governor General, Earl of Amherst and Viceregal Lodge, the official residence built by the 17th Viceroy, Earl Dufferin, was occupied on July 23, 1888. Though Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin personally supervised its taking finished shape, its completion work went on till September 1988 which led the present shape of the building given by Earl of Marquis of Lansdowne till 1889 - the only Viceroy who exclusively lived therein during his entire tenure, i.e., from 10th December, 1888 to 26th June, 1894 in Summer Camp. The building was built with an exquisite Himalayan gray stones and personified the English Renaissance of Elizabethian style of architecture. The beauty and grandeur of the building is unique. The Viceroys/ Governor Generals used this building as Summer Camp from April to October of each calandar year and the British ruled the entire India from this building. It was also used as part of Legislative Wing. Ultimately, after independence, it was renamed as Rashtrapati Niwas , dawning with smile the freedom for Bharat and the Presidents of the Bharat Republic stayed therein as Summer Resort until Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President had it handed over to the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in the year 1964. The President himself had inaugurated the Institute when Dr. Jakir Hussain, then as its Chairman, and who later became the President of India, had chaired the meeting. It thus furnishes the historical evidence of the Colonial Holocaust unleashed on Indians and reflects upon the triumph of Indian nationalism; it has laid seed-bed to the end of the British colonialism. Whether such a building is required to be maintained as historical monument of national importance, is the question before us.
3. When Dr. Radhakrishnan, the President of India felt that since the President spent hardly 120 days in 10 years, ie., 10 days a year, it was worthwhile to house the said Institute therein, instead of keeping the historical monument as idle building which would facilitate maintaining the grandeur and beauty of the building. However, the fact is that with the passage of time, it has faded out and lost its real beauty. While the Institute was being so run, cruel decision was taken by the Cabinet of the Union of India to convert the building, a priceless treasury of our historical heritage, into tourist hotel, while purporting to maintain the main part of the building as historical resort. Feeling the inner voice of its ultimate destruction, the petitioner has knocked the door of this Court, and in our view rightly, to protect it as the historical heritage and to preserve our posterity.
4. Before considering whether the Viceregal Lodge should be declared as historical heritage (monuments), let us have a look at the legal setting in that behalf. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (for short, the Ancient Monuments Act ) provides for the preservati
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