Keyword(s):
Disposal of Documents, Public Value, Preservation

THE KERALA DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS ACT, 1961[1]
An Act to consolidate the law providing for the destruction or other disposal of certain
documents in the possession or custody of courts and Revenue and other public
officers
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is necessary to consolidate the law providing for the
destruction
or other disposalof certain documents in the possession or custody of courts and Revenue
and other public officers in the Stale of Kerala;
Be it enacted in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India as fallows: —
1. Short title, extent and commencement .—( l) This Act may be called The Kerala
Destruction of Records Act, 1961.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Power to certain authorities to make rules for the disposal of documents.— (1) The
authorities hereinafter specified may, from time to time, make rules for the disposal, by
destruction or otherwise, of such documents as are in the opinion of the authority making
the rules, not of sufficient public value to justify their preservation .
(2) The authorities competent to make rules under sub-section (1} shall be , —
(a) in the case of documents in the possession or custody of the High
Court or of the courts of civil or criminal jurisdiction subordi nate thereto,—the High
Court ;
(b) in the case of documents in the possession or custody of Revenue
courts and officers,—the Board of Revenue ;
( c) in the case of document in the possession or custody of any other
public officer,—the Government or the Head of the Department concerned or any officer
specially authoriised in that behalf by the Government.
(3) Rules made under this section by the High Court or by the Board of Revenue
or by a Head of Department or by an officer specially authorised in that behalf shall be
subject to the previous approval of the Government. 3. Saving of certain documents.— Nothing in this Act shall he deemed to authorise the
destruction of any document which, under the provisions of any law for the time being in
force, is to be kept and main tained.
4. Repeal. —The enactments mentioned in the Schedule are repealed to the extent
specified therein.

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