Immediate trigger for the petitioner appears to be the theft of historical artefacts of Kabiguru Rabindra Nath Tagore, kept in the museum of Viswabharati University at Santiniketan in West Bengal of which Prime Minister is the Chancellor.
Prayer in the petition is for a direction for adequate security arrangements and for proper investigation into the incidents of theft and damage to several historical objects and also for making an inventory of available articles for future.
Initially, the respondent in the writ petition was the Union of India through Ministry of Human Resource Development but by order of this Court dated 7th July, 2008, the Director General, National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, Janpath, New Delhi the Director, National Gallery of Modern Art, Jaipur House, India Gate, New Delhi the Director, India Museum, 27, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata the Secretary Curator, Victoria Memorial Hall, 1, Queen Way, Kolkata the General Secretary, Asiatic Society, 1, Park Street, Kolkata the Director, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad the Acting Director, Allahabad Museum, Allahabad the Director, Nehru Memorial Museum Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi were impleaded as parties as the said respondents are directly companycerned with the issue raised in the petition.
ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, J. This petition has been filed as public interest litigation on the issue of protection of historical objects preserved at different places in the companyntry particularly in various museums.
