UP school education board has authority to prescribe textbooks for classes 10, 12: Allahabad HC, ETEducation

Prayagraj, The Allahabad High Court has held that the secretary, Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Prayagraj, holds the authority to prescribe textbooks for studies in 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 the petitioner cannot be restrained from publishing books or selling them in the open market if it is not committing any violation of the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Course Books Act.

The writ petition was disposed of in terms of the high court’s earlier judgement on the issue decided in 2014.

“We are of the opinion that the impugned order does not require any interference in this writ petition for the reason that it is the power and jurisdiction of the authority to prescribe textbooks for studies in high school and intermediate examinations.

“In case 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 recourse to the action contemplated therein,” the court observed.

“However, in case the petitioner is not committing any violation of the provisions of the Act or any other law, they cannot be restrained from publishing books or selling them in the open market which are not the prescribed textbooks of the Parishad. Even if such books are not up to the standard of the textbooks of the Parishad or are highly priced, the petitioner himself has to bear the consequences of his marketing efforts.”

The court also said that it has perused the judgment dated April 15, 2014 and is of the view 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.

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