TMI Blog1984 (8) TMI 350X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... us subjects-literature, history, art, science, geography, and even works of fiction. General reading is as essential for a student as it is for any man, for it is reading which broadens the mind and widens the horizon. It was for this reason that Bacon said in his essay, 'Of Studies', Reading maketh a full man , General reading is, therefore, as important as studying from prescribed text-books if the students of today are to become worthy citizens of tomorrow. The selection of these books-both text-books and books for general reading to be kept in school and college libraries-is thus a matter of vital importance to the imparting of proper education. Such selection must necessarily depend upon the ability and fitness for the purpose of those who are charged with that responsibility. This question has come up for our consideration in this Appeal by Special Leave from the judgment and order of the High Court of Orissa dismissing, with no order as to costs, the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution filed by the Appellants. There does not exist any statutory rule or regulation in the State of Orissa prescribing the method for selection of books for general readin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (Schools), Orissa. This Committee selected a supplementary list of 105 books out of the said 1,718 books which had been submitted for selection. There were unprecedented floods and cyclones in the months of August and September 1982 and a large number of schools and colleges suffered in this calamity and the libraries of many schools and colleges were washed away. The Central Government thereupon, as part of its relief programme for the State, gave grants to the State during February and March 1983 aggregating to ₹ 45,00,000 for the purchase of books for the libraries of non-governmental schools and colleges. This was a time-bound grant to be utilized by June 1983. For this reason, the State Government felt that it was not feasible to adopt for selection of books the procedure usually followed as it took a considerable time and, therefore, took a decision on April 5, 1983, to utilize the grant made by Central Government in purchasing books out of the books selected for the years 1980, 1981 and 1982 and the said supplementary list of 105 books. Accordingly, a meeting was convened on April 13, 1983, to consider the selection of books to be purchased. There is some contro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r the selection to be made for purchase of books from the grant made by the Central Government was neither arbitrary nor against public interest inasmuch as the procedure usually followed was laid down only by executive directions and was not a statutory procedure and could, therefore, be changed by the State Government. (3) The final decision approving the selection of books was that of the State Government for it had the right to reject any book recommended by the Assessment Sub-Committee and, therefore, the fact that some members of the Assessment Sub-Committee had also submitted their books for approval did not matter for the role played by an individual member of the Assessment Sub-Committee was insignificant and did not and could not influence the decision either of that Sub- Committee or of the State Government. (4) The presence of Government officials as members of the Purchase Committee and the two Sub-Committees was required by the Government Resolution constituting the Committees and Sub-Committees and the fact that some of these Governmental officials had also submitted books for selection could not invalidate the selection made on the ground of bias for the doctr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The grant given by the Central Government had to be expended within a particular period. The procedure normally adopted by the State Government would have taken more time than what the time-bound grant of the Central Government would have permitted. The State Government was, therefore, justified in setting up a committee for selecting books to be purchased from the Central Government grant in the manner in which it did. There is, however, some controversy as regards the fact whether any publishers were present at the meeting of that committee. According to the Appellants, some publishers were present at that meeting and took part in the deliberations. According to the counter affidavit filed by the President of the Orissa Publishers and Book-Sellers Association, a representative of that Association was called in at the end of that meeting to ascertain whether the said Association was prepared to shoulder the responsibility for arranging the timely supply of books and the said representative did not take part in the proceedings of the said meeting nor was he present at the deliberations thereof. A copy of the minutes of the said meeting which has been annexed to the Petition for Spe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... self will involve no pecuniary loss. In the case of A.K. Kraipak and others v. Union of India and Others,(1) a list of State Forest Officers prepared by the Selection Board for appointment to posts in the senior and junior scales in the Indian Forest Service was set aside by this Court on the ground that the officiating Chief Conservator of forests, whose name was placed at the top of the list, was a member of the Selection Board even though he was not present at the time his name was considered for selection and even though the Selection Board was a recommendatory body and the list prepared by it was to be considered first by the Home Ministry and then by the Union Public Service Commission by whom the final recommendations were to be made. The Court held that the rule that no man should be a judge in his own cause was a principle of natural justice and applied equally to the exercise of qashi-judicial as well as administrative powers. In hardly requires any argument to show that a person who has written a book which is submitted for selection, either by himself or by his publisher, interested in the matter of selection. Authors get their books published by publishers or ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uthor-member comes up for consideration, the other members would feel themselves embarrassed in frankly discussing its merits. Such author-member may also be a person holding a high official position whom the other members may not want to displease. It can be that the other members may not be influenced by the fact that the book which they are considering for approval was written by one of their members. Whether they were so influenced or not is, however, a matter impossible to determine. It is not, therefore, the actual bias in favour of the author-member that is material but the possibility of such bias. All these considerations require that an author-member should not be a member of any such committee or sub-committee. There is, however, an exception to the above rule that no men shall be a judge in his own cause, namely, the doctrine of necessity. An adjudicator, who is subject to disqualification on the ground of bias or interest in the matter which he has to decide, may be required to adjudicate if there is no other person who is competent or authorized to adjudicate or if a quorum cannot be formed without him or if no other competent tribunal can be constituted. In such c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... owever, 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. 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 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 selected. 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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