Probe, international letter of request must for details of Chandigarh items auctioned in Paris

“Under the Article 49 of the Indian Constitution, it is the obligation of the state to protect the heritage items.
I urged the external affairs minister to adopt all diplomatic channels to bring back all the heritage items to India. The government should order a police probe how Chandigarh heritage items are being smuggled out of the country,” Jagga said.

At least five Chandigarh heritage items were auctioned by an auctioned house, PIASA, in Paris on February 23. These five were a library table that went for 22,750 euros (Rs 19.96 lakh), a coffee table that went for 9,750 euros (Rs 8.55 lakh), a sewing stool that fetched 15,600 euros (Rs 13.69 lakh), a file rack that went for 11,700 euros (Rs 1.02 lakh), and a set of eight office chairs that fetched 97,500 euros (Rs 85.57 lakh).

In November 2022, a French team of embassy officials, judicial officers and heritage experts visited all heritage buildings in Chandigarh where the furniture pieces were kept.

Article 49 of the Constitution reads, “Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance.—It shall be the obligation of the State to protect every monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest, declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of national importance, from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.”