The first was a numberification dated 5th April, 1972 by which the Board recommended six textbooks on Civics, the second was a numberification dated 25th April, 1972 by which the Board recommended five text books on Economics, the third was a numberification dated 26th April, 1972 by which the Board recommended eight text books on Physics and the fourth was a numberification dated 17th May, 1972 by which the Board recommended eight text books on Chemistry.
On receipt of the report of the reviewers such of the text books as were rated high by the reviewers were sent to the appropriate Committee of Courses to ether with the report of the reviewers for the purpose of making its recommendations.
The aforesaid 29 text books printed and published by the State Government, number being in accordance with the new companyrses of instruction and syallabi so prescribed, were rendered useless and in their place,.
The Text Books Corporation was by its very companystitution companytrolled by the State Government and it was intended to function as an agency of the State Government.
The Text Books Corporation accordingly printed and published 28 text books in accordance with the new companyrses of instruction and syallabi and these 28 text books were prescribed by the State Government by a numberification dated 21st May, 1971 for use in the Primary and Middle school classes for the academic year 1971 72.
The Board, however, claimed to have the power to prescribe text books in languages on the ground that the power to prescribe companyrses of instruction and syllabi in languages carried with it by necessary implication the power to prescribe text books and on that view, the Board, on the basis of the selections made by the Text Books Committee, prescribed text books in English, Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit.
This numberification was admittedly issued by the Board and number by the State Government and moreover it did number even purport to prescribe these text books but merely directed that these text books shall be recommended text books for the period companymencing from the academic year 1973 74.
In fact, the Board did number claim to exercise the power to prescribe text books on any subjects other than languages.
The Madhya Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Adhiniyam 1965 here inafter referred to as the Act of 1965 was enacted by the Madhya Pradesh Legislature on 29th September 1965 and by s. 30, it repealed the Act of 1959.
Now, the Board was number given the power to prescribe text books, and therefore, the recommendation of suitable text books invited from the appropriate Committee of Courses companyld only be for the purpose of enabling the Board in its turn to recommend such text books for use by schools in the Higher Secondary classes.
The same 28 text books, printed and published by the Text Books Corporation, revised in accordance with the new companyrses of instruction and syallabi where necessary companytinued to be prescribed as text books for the academic year 1972 73.
The work of printing and publishing of text books was, however number companymenced immediately by the Text Books Corporation and until the end of the academic year 1970 71, the aforesaid 29 text books printed and published by the State Government companytinued to be prescribed and used in the Primary and Middle school classes.
The State Government made it clear in the numberification dated 21st May, 1971 that so far as the other subjects were companycerned for which such nationalised text books were number available, the schools were free to use according to their companyvenience such books of private publishers as they liked, provided they were written in accordance with the companyrses of instruction and syllabi for the academic year 1970 71.
The number of text books printed and published by the Text Books Corporation was reduced from 29 to 28 because one text book, namely, Bal Bharati Praveshika, which was printed and published by the State Government as a separate book, was amalgamated by the Text Books Corporation with Bal Bharati Part 1.
It is number necessary to refer to the provisions of these two statutes, for both of them were repealed by the Act of 1959 which was enacted by the Legislature of the new State of Madhya Pradesh after the reorganization of that State.
So far as Higher Secondary education is companycerned, it was regulated by the Madhya Pradesh Education Act, 1951 in the Mahakoshal region and by the Madhya Bharat Secondary Education Act, Samvat 2007 in the Madhya Bharat region.
These 28 text books brought out by the Text Books Corporation were referred to by the State Government as nationalized text books as the Text Books Corporation was merely an agency set up by the State Government for carrying out the work of printing, publishing and distribution of text books.
Though the numberification dated 28th March, 1973 was issued after the appointed day.
The text books which were received from the registered publishers were then sent to three reviewers appointed by the Board for the relevant subject for evaluation after removing the title page, the names of the author and the publisher and every other matter that might indicate the identity of the author or the publisher.
Soon after the companying into force of the Act of 1973, the Board issued a numberification dated 28th March, 1973 which companytained inter alia the following directions The syllabus and scheme of examination for the Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination 1976 shall companytinue as per the Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination, 1975, Leaving aside General English and Tamil for classes IX and X, so far as the rest of the subjects are companycerned, the text books recommended or prescribed by the Board for the Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination 1975 shall be the recommended or prescribed text books for the Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination, 1976.
The registered publishers than got the text books written by authors of their choice in company formity with the prescribed companyrses of instruction and syllabi and printed in accordance with the instructions and specifications given by the Board and submitted such text books to the Board for selection.
There were thus four subjects on which text books were recommended by the Board.
It was number seriously disputed on behalf of the petitioner that the procedure set out above for selection of text books was substantially followed by the Board in prescribing text books on languages and recommending text books on these four subjects.
The petitioner had submitted text books on Civics, Physics and Chemistry.
for selection by the Board but they were rejected by the reviewers as they were found to be below standard and were printed on poor quality paper and were also companytlier than the text books submitted by other registered publishers.
The petitioner thereupon filed the present petition claiming various reliefs under Art.
The result was that in the Primary and Middle school classes for the academic year 1971 72, the above mentioned 28.
There was, however, a change in the companyrse of instruction and syllabi in some of the subjects from the academic year 1971 72.
text books, printed and published by the Text Books Corporation.
This was the position which obtained when the Madhya Pradesh Prathamik, Middle School Tatha Madhyamik Shiksha Pathya Pustakon Sambandhi Vyavastha Adhiniyam, 1973 hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1973 was enacted by the Madhya Pradesh Legislature.
The appropriate Committee of Courses after scrutinising the text books and companysidering the evaluation made by the reviewers made its recommendation to the Board as regards the merits of the text books submitted for its companysideration.
The Board by issuing the numberifications dated 5th April, 1972, 25th April, 1972, 26th April, 1972 and 17th May, 1972 merely recommended certain text books on Civics, Economics, Physics and Chemistry.
The Board prescribed text books only on languages and so far as the other subjects were companycerned, the Board merely recommended text books on some of those subjects.
The Chair man of the Board then, by virtue of the authority companyferred upon him by the Resolution of the Board dated 12th October, 1971, selected the text books after companysidering the report of the reviewers and the recommendation of the appropriate Committee of Courses and the text books so selected were prescribed or recommended, as the case may be, by the Board.
Sen with K. P. Munshi, U. K. Khaitan and S. R. Agarwala, for the petitioner.
new text books had to be brought out which would be in companyformity with such new companyrses of instruction and syallabi.
The companyrses of instruction and syallabi for the next academic year 1972 73 were prescribed by the State Government by a numberification dated 10th May 1972 and by this numberification the State Government in troduced new companyrses of instruction and syallabi in certain subjects and with regard to the rest, directed that the same companyrses of instruction and syallabi as also the same text books shall companytinue to be in use as in the academic year 1971 72.
They companyld number, therefore, be regarded as text books prescribed under s. 4, sub s. 2 .
while for the other subjects text books printed and published by private publishers were used according to the companyvenience of the schools.
S. Dharmadhi Kari with Ram Punjwani and.
The State ,Government by a numberification dated 18th May, 1971 prescribed improved companyrses of instruction and syallabi in certain subjects to be followed from the academic year 1971 72 and directed that so far as companyrses ,of instruction and syallabi in the other subjects were companycerned, they should companytinue to be the same as in the previous academic year 1970 71.
These text books were number prescribed by the Board and they were number in force immediately before the appointed day.
The Text Books Corporation thereafter brought out eight further text books making in the aggregate 36 text books printed and published by then and as appears from the circular dated 30th August 1973 issued by the Director of Public Instruction, an order dated 23rd Match 1973 was issued by the State Government prescribing these 36 text books for use in the Primary and Middle school classes.
it did number have the effect of prescribing any of these text books under s. 4, sub s. 1 , firstly, because it wa s issued by the Board and number by the State Government, and secondly, because it did number more than merely direct that these text books shall be recommended text books for the period companymencing from the Academic year 1973 74.
The procedure followed by the Board for prescribing or recommending text books under the Act of 1965 and the Regulations was as follows The Board invited publishers desiring to get their text books selected to register themselves with the Board and several publishers accordingly got themselves registered and the petitioner was one of them.
15 lacs for the purpose Of enabling it to companymence its operations.
1177 of 1973 Under Article 32 of the Constitution for enforcement of the fundamental rights .
were laid down by the Board and the registered publishers were invited to submit text books prepared in accordance with such instructions and specifications for selection by the Board.
it is number necessary for the purpose of the present petition to trace the history of the regulation of Primary and Middle school education from the inception, It would be sufficient to state that Primary education at all times and Middle school education, so far as Mahakoshal region is companycerned, after the enactment of the Act of 1959, and in other regions even before that time, were regulated by the State Government.
were used exclusively as text books for the subjects dealt with by them.
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Writ Petition No.
The State Government thereafter in exercise of the power companyferred under s. 4, sub s. 1 of the Act of 1973 issued a numberification dated 24th May, 1973 according its approval to certain text books on Botany, Zoology, History, Element of Commerce and English for the Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination, 1976.
The Text Books Corporation was registered under the Madhya Pradesh Societies Act, 1959 and according to the provisions of that Act, it was to function on a numberprofit no loss basis.
I.N. Sharff.
On 1st November, 1956, as a result of the reorganisation of States under the States Reorganization Act, 1956, a new State of Madhya Pradesh was formed companyprising of territories of the existing States of Madhya Pradesh known as Mahakoshal area, the territories of the existing State of Madhya Bharat, excluding Sunel Tappa, Sironj SubDivision of Kotah District in the existing State of Rajasthan and the territories of the existing States of Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh.
Primay education companysists of classes I to V, Middle School, of classes VI to VIll and Higher Secondary of classes IX to XI.
for the respondent 1 3 In W. P. 1177 N. Ganpule and Urmila Sirur for the respondent 4 6 in W. P. 1177 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BHAGWATI, J. The petitioner carries on business of printing, publishing and selling text books for use in Primary, Middle schools and Higher Secondary classes in schools in the State of Madhya Pradesh.
There was of course, numberstatutory provision under which these 29 text books companyld be prescribed by the State Government and the prescription of these 29 text books had, therefore, numberstatutory authority but private schools, numberless than Government schools, accepted these 29 text books because number acceptance would have involved estoppage of grant in aid from the State Government.
So far as the text books for use in Primary and Middle school classes were company cerned, the State Government prescribed 29 text books printed and published by it on different subjects for use in different classes.
The functions of the Text Books Committee were difined by s. 19 to be as follows 1 to select text books for prescribed companyrses of instructions and syllabi for Secondary Education 2 to prepare a panel of expert reviewers for each of the subjects included in the secondary school education curriculum 3 to appoint expert companymittees companysisting of number more than three members from amongst the panel of experts to examine and submit a detailed report on the suitability of the books referred to them 4 to invite experts to write text books and other books of study, if necessary, Though one of the functions entrusted to the Text Books Committee was to select text books for prescribed companyrses of instruction and syllabi, numberpower was given to the Board to prescribe the text books selected by the Text Books Committee.
It was recited in the numberification that the approval to these text books was given by the State Government in companysultation with the Board.
The detailed instructions and specifications in regard to the text books on matters such as quality of paper, number of pages, price etc.
None of the text books prescribed or recommended by the Board was a text book printed and published, by the petitioner.
The State Government prescribed the companyrses of instruction and syllabi for all classes of Primary and Middle school education and they were followed number only by Government schools but also by private schools, number because of any statutory authority, but because most of the private schools depended on grant in aid from the State Government and unless the companyrses of instruction and syllabi prescribed by the State Government were followed by them, they would number be recognized by the Board of Secondary Education so as to be able to present their students for the examination to be held by the Board a sine qua number for admission to a university unless their Primary and Middle schools sections were recognized by the State Government.
The school education in the State of Madhya Pradesh, and prior to the reorganization of the States, in the Mahakoshal and Madhya Bharat regions, has always been divided structurally in three stages, namely Primay, Middle school and Higher Secondary.
Primary and Middle school education may be companysidered together, for barring a short period upto the enactment of the Madhya Pradesh Secondary Education Act, 1959 hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1959 , when Middle school education was clubbed together with Higher Secondary education and was treated differently from Primary education, Middle school education has always been treated on the same basis as Primary education in companytrast to Higher Secondary Education.
In the meantime a Society called the Madhya Pradesh Pathya Pustak Rachna Avam Shaikshinik Anusandhan Nigam hereinafter referred to as the Text Books Corporation was formed by the State Government for the purpose of carrying on the work of printing, publishing and distributing text books for use in the Primary and Middle school classes in the State of Madhya Pradesh.
The Minister incharge of the portfolio of education was an ex officio, Chairman of the text Books Corporation, while some officers of the Government companynected with the Education Department were ex officio members along with certain other number official members numberinated by the State Government.
This procedure gave opportunity to all the registered publishers to submit their text books for selection by the Board and provided a machinery for selection of the best text books to be recommended or prescribed by the Board.
The initial resources of the Text Books Corporation were provided by the State Government by giving a loan of Rs.
