Case: J. Mohapatra and Company and Another Vs. State of Orissa and Another

the High Court was, not only in respect of the books selected and purchased for those years but also with respect to the books selected and to be purchased from the Central Government grant because these books have also by now been purchased and distributed among the various school and college libraries. All that we can, therefore, do in this Appeal is to lay down guide-lines which should be followed in the future in selecting not only books for libraries in educational institutions but also in prescribing text-books and in constituting committees for these purposes. 8. It was, however, submitted on behalf of the Respondents that it was not necessary for this Court to lay down any guide-lines inasmuch as after the Special Leave to Appeal was granted in this case, the State Government had issued a fresh Government Resolution dated November 24, 1983, whereby it constituted a new Purchase Committee and Assessment Committee consisting of Government officials and non- official members, clause (8) of which Resolution satisfied the principles of fair play and natural justice by eliminating the possibility of any author -member of the committee influencing author-members in selecting his book. Clause (8) of the said Resolution reads as follows:"No member of the Purchase/Assessment Committee shall remain present in discussion while considering a book in which he/she is interested as author/editor/publisher." 9. In the alternative, it was submitted that if the Court desires to lay down guide-lines, it should do so by adopting clause (8) of the said Government Resolution dated November 24, 1983.We are unable to accept either of the above two submissions. Several books would come up for consideration before the committee, one or more of them by one of the members and the other or others by some o f the other members. Mere non-participation in the discussion by the member concerned or even his withdrawing from the deliberations of the committee while his or her book or books are being considered is not sufficient because th e evil of quid pro quo cannot be eliminated by this. Members deliberating would bear in mind that the turn for selecting their books would also come and the concerned member who had not participated or had withdrawn would not then be favourably inclined to select their books. 10. It was suggested on behalf of the Appellants that in laying down the guide-lines we should provide that if a publisher has published a book written by one of the members of the committee or sub-committee concerned with the selection of books, such publisher should not be permitted to submit any book for selection even though no book by that author-member had been submitted for selection. It was urged that in such a case the author-member would be favourably inclined to select or approve the book of that publisher in order to maintain good relations with him. We find this suggestion to be unrealistic. Many a person falls a victim to that disease which Jnvenal called cacoethes scriben di(the writers itch), for as Byron said in his English Bards and Scottish Reviewers:"Tis pleasant, sure, to see ones name in print; A books a book, although theres nothing int." 11. It would, therefore, be unfair to prohibit p ublishers from submitting books for selection merely because they had at one time published a book written by one of the members of the committee or sub-committee concerned with the selection of books The number of publishers is large but good publishers are few and such publishers will, therefore, be publishing the majority of books. To lay down such a guide-line would be to eliminate a large number of books which may be worthy of selection.In the light of the above discuss ion we lay down the following guide-lines to be adopted by the State Government, governmental authorities and all committees constituted for the selection to textbooks as also books for libraries of educational institutions whether such committee be called a committee or sub-committee or be described by some other nomenclature:(1) The committee should not consist merely of Government officials or have a preponderance of Government officials on it, for Government officials, with few exceptions, have by and large only administrative experience. In addition to Government officials, therefore, the committee should also consist of men eminent in the particular fields of knowledge for which the books are to be s elected. Non-official members should not be appointed as a matter of political considerations or on party lines but should be appointed only on merit. (2) No member of the committee, a book written or edited by whom is submitted either by himself or his publisher for approval or selection; should continue to remain a member of the committee. If he is a non-official member, he should submit his resignation from the committee on this ground. If he is a Government official, he should intimate to the Government or the authority appointing him on that committee the fact that a book written or edited by him has been submitted for approval or selection and the Government or the concerned authority should substitute in place of such member another person, whether official or non- official, none of whose books has been submitted for approval or selection. (3) No publisher of books or his representative should be appointed a member of the committee or be allowed to remain present at or participate in the deliberations of the committee.The guide-lines we have laid down above are not intended to be exhaustive but contain the bare essentials of what is required. We are conscious that no guide-lines laid down by a court can ensure the selection of really worthwhile books. This must necessarily depend upon the social consciousness and moral fibre of the members of the committee. Similarly, no judgment of a court can eliminate the evil of behind-the-scene influence. Here, one must perforce trust the sense of responsibility of the members of the committee in the discharge of the important duty with which they are entrusted.

Court's decision (1 = petition accepted / positive for appellant, 0 = rejected / negative): 1

Reasoning from the judgment:
1[ds]It would, therefore, be unfair to prohibit p ublishers from submitting books for selection merely because they had at one time published a book written by one of the members of the committee or sub-committee concerned with the selection of books The number of publishers is large but good publishers are few and such publishers will, therefore, be publishing the majority of books. To lay down such a guide-line would be to eliminate a large number of books which may be worthy of selection.In the light of the above discuss ion we lay down the following guide-lines to be adopted by the State Government, governmental authorities and all committees constituted for the selection to textbooks as also books for libraries of educational institutions whether such committee be called a committee or sub-committee or be described by some other nomenclature:(1) The committee should not consist merely of Government officials or have a preponderance of Government officials on it, for Government officials, with few exceptions, have by and large only administrative experience. In addition to Government officials, therefore, the committee should also consist of men eminent in the particular fields of knowledge for which the books are to be s elected. Non-official members should not be appointed as a matter of political considerations or on party lines but should be appointed only on merit(2) No member of the committee, a book written or edited by whom is submitted either by himself or his publisher for approval or selection; should continue to remain a member of the committee. If he is a non-official member, he should submit his resignation from the committee on this ground. If he is a Government official, he should intimate to the Government or the authority appointing him on that committee the fact that a book written or edited by him has been submitted for approval or selection and the Government or the concerned authority should substitute in place of such member another person, whether official or non- official, none of whose books has been submitted for approval or selection(3) No publisher of books or his representative should be appointed a member of the committee or be allowed to remain present at or participate in the deliberations of the committee.The guide-lines we have laid down above are not intended to be exhaustive but contain the bare essentials of what is required. We are conscious that no guide-lines laid down by a court can ensure the selection of really worthwhile books. This must necessarily depend upon the social consciousness and moral fibre of the members of the committee. Similarly, no judgment of a court can eliminate the evil of behind-the-scene influence. Here, one must perforce trust the sense of responsibility of the members of the committee in the discharge of the important duty with which they are entrusted.