The Allahabad High Court has ruled that the Board of High School and Intermediate Education Uttar Pradesh has the statutory authority to determine and prescribe textbooks for Classes 10 and 12.
The ruling was delivered by a division bench comprising Justices Niraj Tiwari and Garima Prasad while hearing a petition filed by M/s Rajiv Prakashan, which had challenged an order issued by the Board’s secretary.
Court Upholds Board’s Statutory Powers
In its order dated February 19, the High Court held that the power to select textbooks for high school and intermediate-level examinations squarely lies within the jurisdiction of the Board’s competent authority. The bench observed that there was no ground for judicial interference with the impugned order.
“The authority is legally empowered to prescribe textbooks for studies conducted under the Board,” the court noted, adding that the issue raised had already been settled by an earlier judgment delivered in 2014.
Publishers Free to Sell Non-Prescribed Books
While affirming the Board’s powers, the court also clarified that publishers cannot be barred from printing or selling books in the open market, provided they do not violate the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Course Books Act, 1979 or any other applicable law.
The bench stated that if a publisher breaches statutory provisions, the state authorities are free to initiate action as permitted under law. However, in the absence of such violations, restricting publication or sale would be unwarranted.
The court further observed that even if such books are priced higher or do not match the academic standards of Board-prescribed textbooks, the commercial consequences of such decisions must be borne by the publisher.
Petition Disposed of in Line with Earlier Ruling
After reviewing the 2014 judgment on the same issue, the bench concluded that the present petition was fully covered by existing legal precedent. Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of without granting any relief to the petitioner.
Why this matters:
The ruling reinforces the UP Board’s control over academic standards at the secondary and senior secondary levels, while simultaneously safeguarding the freedom of publishers to operate in the open market—so long as they comply with state law.