The Centre on Monday told the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will publish the report on the first two phases of Keeladi archaeological excavations in Sivaganga district, submitted by Superintending Archaeologist K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, in nine months.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice G. Ilangovan recorded the submissions made by the Centre and disposed of the public interest litigation petitions filed by P. Prabhakar Pandian of Madurai who had sought a direction to the ASI to publish Mr. Ramakrishna’s report.
Mr. Pandian, in his petition, said Mr. Ramakrishna had led the first two phases of the excavations in Keeladi between 2014 and 2016. Mr. Ramakrishna submitted his 982-page report on the findings to the then ASI Director General in 2023.
The petitioner said about 5,800 artefacts were unearthed in Keeladi during the first two phases of the excavations. Eventually, Mr. Ramakrishna was transferred and the ASI stated that there were no significant findings in Phase III of the excavations. The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology carried out the excavations from the fourth phase and so far nine phases had been completed, he said.
He submitted that the findings in Keeladi had further pushed the Sangam Age to 800 BCE. Several significant findings had been made in Keeladi. People, political leaders, historians, academicians, researchers, archaeological and Tamil enthusiasts were demanding the reason for the delay in publication of Mr. Ramakrishna’s report, the petitioner said.
The court adjourned the hearing in the other public interest litigation petitions pertaining to Keeladi by one week. One of the petitions filed in 2016 sought a direction to authorities to set up a ‘site museum’ in Keeladi. The court observed that the artefacts were already shifted to the museum.
Mr. Ramakrishna is now serving as the Superintending Archaeologist, Temples Survey Project (TSP), Southern Region.
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