Acquisition of antiquities by State Government

(1) If the State Government apprehends that any antiquity mentiones in notification issued under sub-section (1) of Section 24, is in danger of being destroyed, removed, injured, misused or allowed to fall into decay or is of opinion that, by reason of its historical or archaeological importance, it is desirable to preserve such antiquity in a public place, the State Government may make an order or the compulsory acquisition of such antiquity and the director shall thereupon give notice to the owner of the antiquity to be acquired. (2) Where a notice of compulsory acquisition is issued under sub-section (1) in result of any antiquity, such antiquity shall vest in the State Government with effect from the date of the notice. (3) The power of the compulsory acquisition given by this section shall not extend to any image or symbol actually used for bonafide religious observances.