Prayagraj, February 24 The Allahabad High Court has ruled that the Secretary of the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Prayagraj, has the authority to prescribe textbooks for classes 10 and 12.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Niraj Tiwari and Garima Prasad passed the order on a petition filed by M/s Rajiv Prakashan.
The petitioner had moved the court challenging an order of the Board Secretary.
However, the court, in its order dated February 19, said that the petitioner cannot be restrained from publishing or selling books in the open market if it is not violating the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Course Books Act.
The writ petition was disposed of in accordance with the High Court's earlier judgment on the issue, which was decided in 2014.
"We are of the opinion that the impugned order does not require any interference in this writ petition because it is the power and jurisdiction of the authority to prescribe textbooks for high school and intermediate examinations.
"If the petitioner is violating the provisions of UP Act No. 7 of 1979 or any other law, the State respondents are always at liberty to take action as contemplated therein," the court observed.
"However, if the petitioner is not violating any provisions of the Act or any other law, they cannot be restrained from publishing or selling books in the open market that are not the prescribed textbooks of the Parishad. Even if such books are not up to the standard of the Parishad's textbooks or are highly priced, the petitioner himself has to bear the consequences of his marketing efforts."
The court also said that it has reviewed the judgment dated April 15, 2014, and is of the opinion that "the issue raised in the present petition is squarely covered by the aforesaid judgment".
Accordingly, the present writ petition is disposed of in the same terms, it said.
