Section 5: Antiquities to be sold only under a licence

[As from the date of expiry of a period of six months from the commencement of this Act] no person shall, himself or by any other person on his behalf, carry on the business of selling or offering to sell any antiquity except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted under section 8.

Explanation.—In this section and in sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18 antiquity does not include ancient and historical records other than those declared by or under law made by Parliament, to be of national importance.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 5

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