Chapter I COMMENCEMENT

Short title and commencement.—

1. (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Public Records Act, 2025.
2. (2) It shall come into force at once.

Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. (a) “appraisal’’ means the evaluation of historical value of public records;
2. (b) “Board” means the Archival Advisory Board constituted under sub-section

1. (1) of section 13 of this Act;
   • (c) “defunct institutions” means departments or institutions under the Government, private institutions which have ceased to function due to economic, technical or other reasons;
   • (d) “Director” means the Director of the State Archives Department;
   • (e) “file” means collection of records with a file number including correspondence and notes that are part of the public records and relating to a specific subject;
   • (f) “Government” means the Government of Kerala;
   • (g) “Head of the Department” means head of the agency creating the public records;
   • (h) “periodical review” means the process of re-evaluation of disposed files within the period of retention or destruction of them;
     • (i) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
   • (j) “public records” includes,—
     • (i) any manuscript, copper plates, copper rolls, bamboo splints, palm leaves, ancient texts, leaves, case files, diagram, maps, photos, charts, documents, paper records, files, canvas records, plans, audio clippings and in other various media records;
     • (ii) any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of records;
     • (iii) any reproduction of image or images in its real size or not, embodied in such microfilm;
     • (iv) any other records produced by computer or any other device, of any records creating agency;
   • (k) “public records of archival value” means records having historical, national or administrative importance which is recommended by the board to be acquired by the State Archives Department;
   • (l) “public records of permanent value” means the records which are identified as not destructible after appraisal under various office manuals prevailing in the State which provides for the administration, preservation, appraisal, disposal etc., of public records;
   • (m) “Purchase Committee” means the committee constituted under sub-section
2. (1) of section 17 of this Act;
   • (n) records creating agency means,—
     • (i) Government departments and offices;
     • (ii) commissions, boards and their offices constituted under any Act and institutions and committees functioning wholly or substantially under the control or with the financial assistance of the Government;
     • (iii) Local Self Government Institutions and related offices;
   • (o) “records from private sources” means records in possession of a private individual or any non-governmental organisations;
   • (p) “records officer” means the officer authorised by the records creating agency under sub-section
3. (1) of section 5 of this Act;
   • (q) “reference media” means any checklist, transfer list, subject list, descreptive list prepared and maintained by the records creating agencies or the Archives Department, as the case may be, for finding public records and such other methods as may be prescribed for this purpose;
   • (r) “retension schedule” means the schedule prepared under clause
   • (e) of section 6; “rules” means rules made under this Act;
   • (t) “State” means the State of Kerala.