A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has directed the State Archaeology Department to take necessary steps to protect the Tipu Sultan Fort and its adjoining properties at Feroke in Kozhikode.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chali ordered that the steps be taken in six months so that any further deterioration of the ancient monument and its remains could be avoided.
The court also made it clear that the Archaeology Department would be at liberty to explore the possibility of conducting necessary excavations to identify any further historical and archaeological remains in the adjoining property.
The directives were issued while allowing a public interest litigation filed by K. Jayakrishnan, general convener, Feroke Cultural Coordination Committee, seeking to protect the monuments and its nearby properties.
The court also dismissed a writ petition by E. Abdul Gafoor and other owners of the property adjacent to the monument challenging declaration of their property as an ancient monument by the State government and the Director of Archaeology in terms of the provisions of the the Kerala Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1968.
Dismissing the pleas against the declaration, the court said there was a cave and a large well on the property and it seemed that the cave was extending to different parts of Kozhikode district. It was also evident from the photographs that the cave was made of laterite and it had its own architectural value and relevance. Therefore, the government was right in declaring the property as an ancient monument.
According to the Feroke Cultural Coordination Committee, Tipu’s Fort and other adjacent monuments were in ruins due to the carelessness of the authorities. There had been a lethargic attitude on the part of the Archaeology Department in not conducting excavation on the adjoining property.
