KUMKUM PRAKASHAN Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Admit. All the respective Counsels waive service of notice on behalf of the respective parties.

(2.) All the learned Counsels appearing for the respective parties in this Letters Patent Appeal have agreed to dispose of this appeal finally and hence arguments were heard.

(3.) The main Special Civil Application No. 6921 of 1988 was filed by the appellant herein praying to quash and set aside the selection of books by the Selection Committee and awarding the contracts to respondents Nos. 3 to 8 for the supply of childrens books worth about Rs. 46 lacs under the Operation Blackboard Scheme. Apart from other things the main allegation in the petition is that one Vimuben Badheka included in the Committee was interested in the selection of the books of her father-in-law put up in the tender of Gurjar Sahitya Bhavan; that those books have been selected; and that the selection of the books by the Selection Committee is vitiated and violative of the principles of natural justice Further averment is that yet another member by name Hasubhai Yagnik is the Registrar of the Gujarat Sahitya Academy under Professor Suresh Dalal who is the Vice Chairman of the Gujarat Sahitya Academy. Hence the selection of books written by Professor Suresh Dalal wherein Hasubhai Yagnik is one of the Selection Committee member is vitiated and violative of the principles of natural justice. The learned single Judge who disposed of the Special Civil Application No. 6921 of 1988 has observed that simply because Smt. Vimuben Badheka happens to be the daughter-in-law of Shri Gijubhai Badheka who has died before about 20-30 years by no reasonable standard it can be said that Smt. Vimuben Badheka would act with bias in favour of her late father-in-law. The learned single Judge has also observed that the copy-rights of the books written by late Shri Gijubhai Badheka have been sold away to one publisher. As regards Hasubhai Yagnik in view of the development in the jurisprudence it is too much to think that Shri Hasubhai Yagnik who is serving as Registrar in the Academy will be influenced by Professor Suresh Dalal who is the Vice Chairman of the Academy. While observing so the learned single Judge has observed: