#THE INDIAN MUSEUM ACT, 1910
##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
###PRELIMINARY
SECTIONS
###INCORPORATION OF THE TRUSTEES
Constitution and incorporation of the Trustees of the Indian Museum.
Minimum number of Trustees and quorum.
Power to appoint new Trustees.
[Omitted.].
PROPERTY AND POWERS OF THE TRUSTEES
Property vested in or placed under the control of the Trustees.
Power to Trustees to exchange, sell and destroy articles in collections.
Power to Trustees to make bye-laws.
Power of Trustees to appoint officers and servants.
DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEES
10A. Annual report and accounts.
Collections of Asiatic Society to be kept distinguished in the museum.
Articles received in exchange or purchased and moneys realised from sale to be held on trust.
SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS
12A. Power of Central Government to issue directions to Trustees.
Officers under Act to be public servants.
Power to Trustees to keep collections not belonging to them.
Power to Trustees to part with certain property in their possession.
15A. Power to make rules.
Property in collections on determination of trust.
[Repealed.].
THE SCHEDULE.
#THE INDIAN MUSEUM ACT, 1910
##ACT NO. 10 OF 1910
[18th March, 1910.]
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Indian Museum.
WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Indian Museum; It is hereby enacted as follows:—
PRELIMINARY
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, may direct.
###INCORPORATION OF THE-TRUSTEES
(a) the Governor of West Bengal, ex officio Chairman;
(b) the Secretary to the. Government of India in the Ministry concerned with matters relating to the Indian Museum, ex officio;
(c) the Mayor of the Corporation of Calcutta, ex officio;
(d) the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, ex officio;
(e) the Accountant-General, West Bengal, ex officio;
(f) four persons to be nominated by the Central Government, one of whom shall be a representative of commerce and industry chosen in consultation with the Government of West Bengal;
(g) one person to be nominated by the Government of West Bengal;
(h) one person to be nominated by the Council of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta:
Provided that if any of the Trustees referred to in clauses (b), (c) (d) and (e) is unable to attend any meeting of the Trustees, he may, with the previous approval of the Chairman, authorise a person in writing to do so.
(2) The Trustees shall be a body corporate, by the name of “The Trustees of the Indian Museum”, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and in that name shall sue and be sued, and shall have power to acquire and hold property, to enter into contracts, and to do all acts necessary for and consistent with the purposes of this Act.
(3) The nominated Trustees shall, save as herein otherwise provided, hold office for a period of three years:
Provided that the authority nominating a Trustee may extend his term of office for one or more like periods.
(2) The quorum necessary for the transaction of business at a meeting of the Trustees shall not be less than four.
(a) dies, or
(b) is absent from the meetings of the Trustees for more than twelve consecutive months, or
(c) desires to be discharged, or
(d) refuses or becomes incapable to act, or
(e) is appointed to perform the duties of any of the offices specified in clauses (a) to (e) of sub-section (1) of section 2,
the authority which nominated the Trustee may nominate a new Trustee in his place.
###PROPERTY AND POWERS OF THE TRUSTEES
Provided that the Trustees may expend the capital of any portion of such property which may consist of money on the maintenance, improvement and enlargement of the collections deposited in, presented to or purchased for, the said Museum or otherwise for the purposes of the same as they may think fit.
(2) The Trustees shall have the exclusive possession, occupation and control, for the purposes of such trust, of the land specified in the schedule, including any buildings which may have been, or may hereafter be, erected thereon, other than those portions thereof which have been set apart by the Trustees for the records and offices of the Geological Survey of India.
(a) deliver, by way of loan, to any person the whole or any portion of, or any article contained in, any collection vested in them under this Act;
(b) exchange or sell duplicates of articles contained in any such collection and take or purchase, in the place of such duplicates, such articles as may in their opinion be worthy of preservation in the Museum;
(c) present duplicates of articles contained in any such collection to other Museums in India; and
(d) remove and destroy any article contained in any such collection.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such bye-laws may provide for—
(a) the summoning, holding and adjournment of general and special meetings of the Trustees;
(b) the securing of the attendance of Trustees at such meetings;
(c) the provision and keeping of minute-books and account-books;
(d) the compiling of catalogues;
(e) the lending of articles contained in the collections vested in the Trustees;
(f) the exchange and sale, and the presentation to other Museums in India, of duplicates of articles contained in such collections;
(g) the removal and destruction of articles contained in such collections; and
(h) the general management of the Museum.
(3) The Central Government shall cause every bye-law made under this section to be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the bye-law or both Houses agree that the bye-law should not be made, the bye-law shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that bye-law.
(2) The recruitment and the conditions of service of such officers and servants shall be regulated by rules made under this Act.
###DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEES
10A. Annual report and accounts.—(1) The Trustees shall, as soon as possible after the commencement of each financial year, submit—
(a) to the Central Government within such time or date as may be specified by the Central Government, a report giving a true and full account of their activities during the previous financial year and an account of the activities likely to be undertaking during the current financial year;
(b) to such auditor as the Central Government may appoint in this behalf, accounts of all moneys expended by the Trustees during the previous financial year, supported by the necessary vouchers.
(2) The Trustees shall cause such report and accounts to be published annually for general information.
(2) An inventory of such additions shall be made by the said Society, one copy whereof shall be signed by the Trustees and delivered to the said society, and another copy shall be signed by the Council of the said Society and delivered to the Trustees, and shall be kept by them along with the inventory delivered to the predecessors in office of the Trustees when the said collections were deposited in the said Museum.
###SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS
12A. Power of Central Government to issue directions to Trustees.—(1) In the discharge of their functions under this Act, the Trustees shall be bound by such directions on questions of policy as the Central Government may give to them from time to time:
Provided that the Trustees shall be given an opportunity to express their views before any direction is given under this sub-section.
(2) The decision of the Central Government whether a question is one of policy or not shall be final.
Officers under Act to be public servants.—All officers and servants appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860); .
Power to Trustees to keep collections not belonging to them.— Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the Trustees may, if they think fit, with the previous sanction of the Central Government and subject in each case to such conditions as it may approve and to such rules as it may prescribe, assume the custody and administration of collections which are not the property of the Trustees for the purposes of their trust under this Act, and keep and preserve such collections either in the Indian Museum or elsewhere:
Provided that if the trust constituted by this Act is at any time determined, any such collections shall not by reason of their then being in the Indian Museum become the property of Government.
15A. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, in consultation with the Trustees, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the recruitment and the conditions of service of the officers and servants of the Museum;
(b) the form and manner in which the accounts of the Museum may be maintained and the manner in which such accounts may be audited;
(c) the circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which the Trustees may assume the custody and administration of any collections referred to in section 14 and keep and preserve such collections;
(d) the conditions subject to which the Trustees may deliver possession of any property in their possession to any other person.
(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule, or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
(a) the collections and additions mentioned in section 11 shall become the property of the said Asiatic Society or their assigns, and
(b) all the other collections then in the said Indian Museum shall, save as otherwise provided by section 14, become the property of Government.
##THE SCHEDULE
(See sections 6 and 15)
Land bounded— on the north side by the premises No. 2, Sudder Street, and by Sudder Street;
on the west side by Chowringhee Road and by the premises No. 29, Chowringhee Road (occupied by the Bengal United Service Club);
on the south side by the premises No. 29, Chowringhee Road, by Kyd Street, and by the premises No. 4, Chowringhee Lane, and
on the east, side by the premises No. 15, Kyd Street, and the premises Nos. 4, 3, 2 and 1, Chowringhee Lane.
together with all bluildings, roads and tanks existing or erected thereon, and all casements appertaining thereto.