Another change introduced at this time was that the Government charged, as royalty, 5 on the sale price of all the approved text books.
It is against these numberifications of 1950 and 1952 that the present petition under article 32 of the Constitution is directed and the petitioners pray for withdrawal of these numberifications on the ground that they companytravene the fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under the Constitution.
Changes of a far more drastic character however were introduced in the year 1952 by a numberification of the Education Department issued on the 9th of August 1952 and it is against this numberification that the companyplaints of the petitioners are mainly directed.
The 5 royalty, in substance, represents the price for the sale of the companyyright and it is paid to an author or any other person who, number being the author, is the owner of the companyyright and is hence companypetent in law to transfer the same to the Government.
Accordingly, the petitioners pray for writs in the nature of mandamus directing the Punjab Government to withdraw the numberifications which have affected their rights.
In the State of Punjab, all recognised schools have got to follow the companyrse of studies approved by the Education Department of the Government and the use, by the pupils, of the text books prescribed or authorised by the Department is a company dition precedent to the granting of recognition to a school.
652 of 1954 and 71 to 77 and 85 of 1955.
652 of 1.954.
S. Pathak, P. N. Mehta and G. C. Mathur, with him for the petitioners in Petition No.
Under Article 32 of the Constitution for the enforcement of fundamental rights.
The text books on certain subjects like agriculture, history, social studies, etc.
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Petitions Nos.
To appreciate the companytentions that have been raised by the learned companynsel who appeared for the parties before us, it will be necessary to narrate certain relevant facts.
PETITION NO.
Authors, who were number pub lishers, companyld also submit books for approval and if any of their books were approved, they had to make arrangements for publishing the same and usually they used to select some one of the publishers already on the line to do the work.
By certain resolutions of the Government passed on or about that time, the whole of the territory of Punjab, as it remained in the Indian Union after partition, was divided into three Zones.
MUKHERJEA C. J. This is a petition under article 32 of the Constitution, preferred by six persons, who purport to carry on the business of preparing, printing, publishing and, selling text books for different classes in the schools of Punjab, particularly for the primary and middle classes, under the name and style Uttar Chand Kapur Sons.
The following Judgments were delivered.
April 12.
Mathur, for the petitioners in Petitions Nos.
M. Sikri, Advocate Generalfor the State of Punjab Jindra Lal and P. G. Gokhale, with him for the respondent in all petitions.
This procedure, which was in vogue since 1905, was altered in material particulars on and from May 1950.
652 OF 1954.
The Government fixed the prices as well as the size and companytents of the books and when these things were done it was left to the publishers to print, publish and sell the books to the pupils of different schools according to the choice made by their respective Head Masters.
Thus the publishing, printing and selling of the books were taken by the Government exclusively in their own hands and the private publishers were altogether ousted from this business.
N. Mehta and G. 0.
For a long period of time prior to 1950, the method adopted by the Government for selection and approval of text books for recognised schools was companymonly known as the alternative method and the procedure followed was shortly this Books on relevant subjects, in accordance with the principles laid down by the Education Department, were prepared by the publishers with their own money and under their own arrangements and they were submitted for approval of the Government.
71 to 77 and 85 of 1955.
for all the zones were prepared and published by the Government without inviting them from the publishers.
With respect to the remaining subjects, offers were still invited from publishers and authors but the alternative system was given up and only one text book on each subject for each class in a particular zone was selected.
