The Archaeological Survey of India, in a counter-affidavit filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday, agreed to utilise the services of K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, the officer in-charge for the first two phases of the Keezhadi excavations.
Responding to a plea that sought to restrain the ASI from filing reports on the excavations, M. Nambirajan, Regional Director (South), ASI, said that the services of Mr. Ramakrishna, who was currently posted in the Guwahati circle, would be utilised for report writing.
The counter denied allegations that excavation work had been affected following the transfer of Mr. Ramakrishna. The transfer was routine, it was submitted.
Final report
The teams that were involved in the first three seasons of excavations were now documenting the excavations, a task that included compilation of the final report. Also, the present Superintending Archaeologist was equally qualified and familiar with the research, and therefore, could assess the findings, the counter said.
The counter added that the ASI’s objective was to bring out an unbiased report after proper analysis and as per the court’s direction. The services of Mr. Ramakrishna would be utilised for report writing as and when required.
The current Superintending Archaeologist would compile the reports of Mr. Ramakrishna and P.S. Sriraman, who were involved in the Keezhadi excavations.
Taking cognisance of the submission, a Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Sathish Kumar disposed of the petition filed by P. Prabhakar Pandian of Madurai. The court adjourned the original public interest litigation petition filed by advocate Kanimozhi Mathi, who sought a direction for the preservation of the site and for steps to preserve the artefacts found at the site.