Kerala High Court
Dr.P.K.Lazar vs State Of Kerala on 13 April, 2023
Author: S. Manikumar
Bench: S.Manikumar, Shaji P.Chaly
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.S.MANIKUMAR
&
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAJI P.CHALY
THURSDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF APRIL, 2023 / 23RD CHAITHRA, 1945
WA NO. 688 OF 2022
[AGAINST THE JUDGMENT IN WP(C)NO.12109/2022 OF
HIGH COURT OF KERALA]
APPELLANT/PETITIONER:
DR. P. K. LAZAR, AGED 66 YEARS,
S/O. LATE P.L. KURIAKKU, GENERAL MANAGER,
EXCEL PUBLISHERS, OPPOSITE MOTHER HOSPITAL,
OLLARIKKARA, THRISSUR - 680 012.
BY ADV. SRI. RAJIT
RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS:
1 STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY,
MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION, SECRETARIAT,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001.
2 DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
HIGHER SECONDARY WING, HOUSING BOARD BUILDINGS,
SANTHINAGAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001.
3 STATE COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING,
POOJAPPURA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-690512.
4 CALICUT UNIVERSITY CENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE STORES
LIMITED.NO.4347, P.O.CALICUT UNIVERSITY,
MALAPPURAM DISTRICT - 673 635.
BY ADVS. SRI. V. TEK CHAND, SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER
SRI. P. C. SASIDHARAN, SC, CALICUT UNIVERSITY
THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
13.04.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
W.A.688/2022 :: 2 ::
JUDGMENT
S. MANIKUMAR, C.J.
Instant writ appeal is filed challenging the judgment dated 24.05.2022 in W.P.(C) No.12109/2022, by which, the writ court having found that there is no illegality in the decision taken by the respondents 1 to 3, viz., State of Kerala, Director of General Education, State Council of Educational Research and Training, in awarding the contract to the 4 th respondent/Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited, dismissed the writ petition.
2. W.P.(C) No.12109/2022 was filed by the appellant/writ petitioner, the General Manager of a publishing enterprises, seeking to quash Exhibit-
P1 order in G.O.(Ord.) No.885/2021 dated 1.2.2021; Exhibit-P2 order in G.O.(Ord.) No.2124/2021 dated 9.3.2021; and Exhibit-P3 tripartite agreement between respondents 2 to 4, by issuance of a writ of certiorari and to direct respondents 1 and 2, viz., State of Kerala and Director of General Education, to conclude the contract of downloading and publishing the materials in respect of the translated 74 titles in 26 subjects from the website of the 3rd respondent/State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) only by way of e-tender.
W.A.688/2022 :: 3 ::
3. Appellant in the writ petition has also sought for a declaration that respondents 1 to 3 can award the contract of downloading and publishing the materials in respect of the translated 74 titles in 26 subjects from the website of the 3rd respondent - State Council of Educational Research and Training, Thiruvananthapuram only by way of e-tender.
4. Brief facts leading to the filing of the writ petition are that appellant/petitioner is the General Manager of Excel Publishers, whose proprietor is his wife Mrs. Anila Lazar. Appellant has further stated that Excel Publishers is the leading publishers of textbooks for schools and colleges. Wife of the appellant, along with the aid and guidance of the appellant, started excel publishers in 1997 at Olarikkara in Thrissur. At the time when Excel Publishers started operation, textbooks were printed by outsourcing the same to various presses.
5. Appellant has further stated that respondent No.3 - State Council of Educational Research and Training, Thiruvananthapuram (SCERT), is a body which provides academic support to the Department of Education and aids in development of curricular material of various types viz., textbooks, supplementary material, teachers' handbooks, manuals and W.A.688/2022 :: 4 ::
modules etc. In order to promote the language of Malayalam, and to aid the students desirous of writing the Plus One and Plus Two examinations in Malayalam, State Council of Education Research and Training - 3 rd respondent, has published the same in the website. However, the 3 rd respondent was not in a position to distribute the books.
6. Appellant has further stated that based on the influence exerted by the 4th respondent - Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited, a Co-operative Society, which is admittedly not an instrumentality of the State, the 3rd respondent decided to engage the service of the 4 th respondent/Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited to print, publish, market, and conduct sale of certain books and materials. It was also decided that the sale of books will be following the instructions issued by respondents 2 and 3, viz., Director of General Education, State Council of Educational Research and Training.
7. It was further decided that the 4 th respondent/Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited would pay 15% royalty to the 3 rd respondent along with the G.S.T. charges.
8. Appellant/writ petitioner has further stated while awarding the W.A.688/2022 :: 5 ::
work to the 4th respondent/Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited, there was no tendering process or transparency involved. The 2 nd respondent-Director of General Education, however, passed Exhibit-P2 order dated 9.3.2021 granting permission for entrusting the work of downloading, printing and publishing to the Calicut University Central Co-
operative Stores Limited - 4th respondent, as per the stipulations contained in Exhibit-P1 order. Later, Exhibit-P3 tripartite agreement was entered into between respondents 2 to 4.
9. Appellant has further stated that the entire contract is worth more than Rs.15 Crores and it is done in a clandestine manner. There are around 4,25,000 students attempting the plus one and plus two examinations and around 75% of the students attempt the papers in vernacular language.
Even if the 5% royalty is deducted along with the GST, respondent No.4 stands to attain a turnover of 18 crores, which according to the appellant, is in violation of all the norms concerning Government tender. In such circumstances, writ petition has been filed for the reliefs stated above.
10. Grievance of the appellant/writ petitioner is with regard to the alleged blatant favoritism shown by the official respondents in favour of 4 th W.A.688/2022 :: 6 ::
respondent, which is a CPI(M) controlled co-operative society.
11. Refuting the averments in the writ petition, the 3 rd respondent has filed a statement, wherein it was, inter alia, contended as under:
A. The petitioner says that, in 1997, he started a publishing house. The petitioner, in fact going by the pleadings, was a teacher during the relevant time and he cannot engage himself in commercial activities. The petitioner has not stated his credentials or any established Government printing work undertaken by him.
B. It is submitted that two types of text books are prescribed in the Higher Secondary section. The text books are prepared by NCERT and SCERT. All text books are being prepared in English and the vast majority of students find it hard to assimilate the content or comprehend the questions when the teaching learning process and the examinations are conducted in English since their medium of instruction till class 10 is Malayalam. To overcome this problem, the questions for Public Examinations are given in Malayalam as well. It is ascertained that the students find it difficult to undertake self study of independent reading since the textbooks are in English. The fact that questions are given in Malayalam too for most of the competitive examinations held at National Level should also be taken note of.
C. It is in this context that the Department of General Education has decided to translate all the textbooks prescribed for the Higher Secondary course into Malayalam and SCERT has carried out the said translation. According to the 3rd respondent, this would be a great help to those students whose medium of instruction is Malayalam and to those who choose to attend the examinations in Malayalam. The textbooks published by certain private agencies are the only Malayalam versions available currently in the market. Hence, it is most essential that the W.A.688/2022 :: 7 ::
translated versions of these textbooks have to be made available to students at the earliest. It has been decided, with the consent of the Government, to entrust the Calicut University Centre Co-operative Store with the printing of textbooks on strict terms and conditions. D. It was further contended that Government have issued the above order for the best interest of the students and it is not intended for commercial marketing. The petitioner, who is running a commercial press, cannot say that it should be entrusted to him. The textbooks are provided by the Government through the schools and that it is not one which can be permitted to be marketed by private publishers.
E. It was also contended that if the printing of the study materials is given to private agencies, certainly there will be commercialization, that too, all the product of SCERT, which it is submitted that is to be prevented in larger public interest.
F. It was further contended that the 3 rd respondent has acted strictly in accordance with the directives of the Government so also best Interest of the students. No right of the petitioner, much less, the statutory right is effected. The Government order relied on by the petitioner has no application in the case at hand. The study materials are not one to be tendered out for printing. The Government is to decide which agency should print and publish the study materials.
G. It was also contended that as regards the tripartite agreement entered into by the Director of General Education, and Secretary of Calicut University Central Co- operative Stores Ltd., it does not suffer from any illegality or irregularity and that the price payable is fixed by the Government. According to the 3rd respondent, it is for the newly introduced translated titles. The printing of the study materials cannot be considered akin to that of a commercial contract. The petitioner said to be a private publisher, has no right or claim that the work should be W.A.688/2022 :: 8 ::
tendered publically. For the foregoing reasons, 3rd respondent prayed for dismissal of the writ petition.
12. Adverting to the rival submissions, vide judgment dated 24.5.2022 in W.P(C). No.12109 of 2022, writ court declined to grant the relief of quashing Exhibits P1 to P3.
13. Relevant portions of the judgment dated 24.5.2022 read thus:
"12. The respondents found that the textbooks, which are prepared by the NCERT and SCERT, are in English and a vast majority of the students found it difficult to assimilate the content of the textbooks. To overcome this problem, it was decided to translate the textbooks into Malayalam. The Department of General Education accordingly entrusted SCERT to carry out translation. At present, only textbooks published by certain private agencies are available in market for students.
13. The Government was approached and with the consent of the Government, the work of printing of these books was entrusted with the 4th respondent-Co-operative Store. The question is whether the petitioner can force the respondents to tender the work publicly.
14. The respondents decided to translate the textbooks and publish the same in the best interest of the students' community. The textbooks were to be made available to the students expeditiously. In the circumstances, respondents 1 to 3 negotiated with the 4th respondent and came to a tentative agreement. The matter was put before the 1st respondent. The 1 st respondent gave its approval for entrusting the work to the 4th respondent as is evident from Ext.P1 Government Order. This Court do not find anything wrong in Ext.P1 Government Order.
W.A.688/2022 :: 9 ::
15. The learned counsel for the petitioner pointed out that the Government has permitted the 3 rd respondent to entrust the work to the 4th respondent fixing the royalty payable to the 3rd respondent at 15%. However, subsequently, the royalty amount has been reduced to 5%. Therefore, the whole transaction is liable to be decided as illegal. Though the Government has initially issued Ext.P1 Government Order fixing 15% as royalty, subsequently, a tripartite agreement was entered into, wherein the Government, SCERT and the 4th respondent were parties and it was on the basis of the agreement that the royalty amount has been reduced to 5%. When the Government is a party to the tripartite agreement, the petitioner cannot be heard to contend that there is no sanction for reducing the royalty amount.
16. The decision has been taken by the Government and the 3rd respondent, taking into consideration the interest of the students. The work has been allotted not to any private commercial institutions but to a Co-operative Store functioning in the Calicut University.
17. Ext.P6 guidelines have been issued by the Central Government and it may not have application as such, to the contract made by respondents 1 to 3. As far as Exts.P4 and P5 WP(C) NO. 12109 OF 2022 10 Government Orders are concerned, the Government itself found that it will be in the interest of the students' community to get the printing works done through the 4th respondent in an expeditious manner so that the study materials reach students promptly. In the circumstances, this Court find no illegality in the decision taken by respondents 1 to 3. Exts.P1 to P3 are not liable to be quashed on any of the grounds urged by the petitioner.
This writ petition is, therefore, dismissed."
14. Being aggrieved by the above judgment, instant writ appeal is filed on the following grounds:
W.A.688/2022 :: 10 ::
A. The impugned judgment, insofar as it has not understood the contentions put forward by the appellant, relying on Exhibits-P4 to P6, as well as the provisions of Store Purchase Manual is perverse, irregular and hence, illegal. The case concerns about a commercial contract. It is duty of the 3rd respondent to prescribe the syllabus as well as publish the text books for students. B. The 2nd respondent being conscious of the fact that many of the students taking the plus one and plus two examinations would find it difficult to answer the questions in English and since there is an option for the student to write the examination in the regional language, it was decided by the 3rd respondent by publish in their website 74 tiles and 36 different subjects in the vernacular. To cut it short, the 3 rd respondent ought to have published the vernacular version of the above 74 tiles and 26 different subjects along with the text books for a reduced rate.
C. Appellant has further contended that the price to be collected for the above textbooks from the students is not fixed at the time when Exhibits-P1 and P2 orders are issued. According to the appellant, this is done with a mala fide purpose. This is to prevent transparency and aid the 4th respondent.
D. Appellant has further contended that as regards contractual matters, there is no difference between co- operative society and a private person. Exhibits P4 to P6 clearly mandate that all procurements/contracts having a value of more than Rs.25 lakhs shall be done by tender to the e-procurement system. It is also stated that the said decision is taken, in order to enhance transparency and efficiency in public procurement activities. Exhibit-P6 is the general guidelines brought up by the Union wherein it is stipulated that procurement with estimated value of Rs.2 lakhs or above shall be done through the e- procurement system. The decision of respondents 2 and 3 to award the work to the 4 th respondent, without tender, W.A.688/2022 :: 11 ::
amounts to violation of the statutory provisions and procedure.
E. Appellant also contended that the finding of the writ court in paragraph 16 of the impugned judgment that the decision is taken by the Government and 3 rd respondent taking into consideration the interest of the student and the work is not been allotted to any private commercial institutions, but to a co-operative store functioning in the Calicut University is clearly illegal and without any rationale basis. As far as commercial interests are concerned, a private commercial institution and a co- operative society would stand on the same footing. Article 14 of the Constitution is clearly violated if this interpretation is to be accepted. If the above reasoning of the learned single judge is accepted, then in all contractual matters, co-operative societies, other organizations having political affiliations, would be entitled for awarding contract and the entire tender process can be ignored for satisfying vested interest which will be against public interest.
H. Another important factor that can be borne out is that in none of the Government orders, period of the contract is specified. Exhibit-P3 agreement also does not specify the tenure of the contract. According to the appellant, this would give an indication that the Government wants to give publishing rights to the 4 th respondent at the cost of the students. Today it is the publication of Text books in vernacular, tomorrow it can be the whole range of Text books including English version for an indefinite period. This itself shows that the action of the respondents is tainted and not keeping in mind the interest of the students.
I. It is a fact that on many occasions due to heavy work loads in the Government printing presses, there are occasions where it is difficult to bring out text books on time and the Government had to outsource the printing and distribution of text books to the private printing W.A.688/2022 :: 12 ::
presses. Therefore, the fact that the petitioner is a private person, would not dilute or wither down the cause espoused in the writ petition. The whole process of downloading the materials published in the website of the 3rd respondent does not require any contribution from the 4th respondent. Then SCERT has already translated the materials. All that has to be done is to download, print and publish the same.
15. Respondent No.4 - Calicut University Central Co-op. Stores Ltd., has filed a counter affidavit dated 9.7.2022, inter alia, contending as under:
"7. The society is undertaking the printing and distribution of the books and other study materials for the Calicut University for the very inception. In addition to the printing work undertaken of the study materials and the academic publication of the Calicut University it has been entrusted works by the Kannur University, Mahatma Gandhi University and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. The society is having high credentials among the academic world in the matter of printing and publishing study materials.
8. As submitted considering its repute in the field without any commercial interest and the motto be only academic, a tri party agreement was entered into by the society with government of Kerala and SCERT for the purpose of the printing and distribution of translated textbooks to schools. The books are translated from English to Malayalam by the experts of the SCERT to be distributed from among the higher secondary students both aided and unaided.
9. It is submitted that the translation work of SCERT is not one to be commercialised and it is one intended to be supplied to the students of Higher Secondary Education both aided and unaided at the rates prescribed. The private publishers are always undertaking the contract for W.A.688/2022 :: 13 ::
commercial purposes and for commercial marketing. It is submitted that the translated works are made available for printing to private publishers certainly they will publish at commercial rate and that the distribution system of the Directorate of General Education (Higher Secondary Wing) will be totally deviled and intellectual academic work of the SCERT will be commercialised.
10. It is submitted that such unauthorised printing and distribution cannot also be easily checked. It is to avoid such contingencies discussions were held at various levels and government issued orders entrusting printing and supply of textbooks by this respondent which cannot be said to be arbitrary.
11. The contention of the petitioner that the work is not awarded by inviting public tender has no substance.
It is submitted that the printing of books, as submitted earlier, is not a commercial job. It is with laudable objects that the textbooks are printed and distributed. In this context, it is not out of place to mention that the text books for the primary, upper primary and high schools are printed at Kerala Books and Publications which is also another society though fully owned by the Government. For printing of academic materials, the appellant cannot compel the respondent to call for tender.
12. The contention of the petitioners that the 4 th respondent who is the member of highly influential political party, which is presently governing the State is absolutely incorrect. As submitted above the members of the society are members of primary societies of the Aided and Government Colleges within the jurisdiction of the Calicut University.
13. The teachers themselves elect the board of directors which has no political colour whatsoever. The President of the Society is Dr. Jojomon, who is the teacher in a Govt. College and to the knowledge of this respondent, he has no political colour whatsoever. Out of the 9 members of the Board of Directors 5 are from the W.A.688/2022 :: 14 ::
Govt. Colleges. And further, Govt. College teachers are not permitted to be members of any political party as well. This is the case of other members of the board of directors.
14. The contention that entire contract is around 20 crores is absolutely incorrect. It is submitted that the averment, around 4,25,000 students are there and 50% students will attend vernacular languages and that the turnover will be 20 Cr is absolutely incorrect. The Government has issued the order for the better public interest and without any profit motive. The price alone is not the criteria for awarding a printing works of study materials. The printing and distribution of study materials are different from that of ordinary commercial contracts. The Government Orders are issued with all bonafide.
16. A detailed affidavit has also been filed by the 3 rd respondent - State Council of Educational Research and Training in the writ appeal, wherein it is stated that the first set of the books has already been published and forwarded to the SCERT and it is approved as well. Relevant portions of the affidavit read thus:
"2. It is submitted that this Hon'ble Court by order dated 6th June 2022 has ordered to file an affidavit or statement supporting the contention that the publication as ordered by the writ court by judgment dated 24 th May 2022 is already over.
3. It is submitted that the Hon'ble Court by judgment dated 24.5.2022 has found that the decisions taken by respondents 1 to 3 and issuance of Ext.P1 to P3 are not liable to be quashed on any ground urged by the petitioner.
4. It is submitted that the translation work of SCERT is not one to be commercialised and it is one intended to be supplied to the students of Higher Secondary Education both aided and unaided at the rate prescribed and that the W.A.688/2022 :: 15 ::
private publications or printing on commercial basis and for commercial marketing is not intended by the agreement.
5. It is submitted that the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited No.4347 has informed the SCERT that they have already completed the Printing of the text book themes in Indian History Part 1 and printing works of other titles are in progress. It is submitted that the printing of the required number of books is to be undertaken by the Calicut University Central Co-Operative Stores Limited No.4347 (4th respondent herein) based on the intends received by them. It is submitted that the number of books to be printed is based on the requirement of the intends forwarded by the schools concerned. It is submitted that the plus one new batches is to be are yet to be commenced in the State of Kerala and that the printing of the actual number of books depends upon the requirement of the schools concerned.
6. It is submitted that the first set of the books has already been published and forwarded to the SCERT and it is approved as well. It is submitted that the distribution of books is to be made by the 4 th respondent as per the agreement based on the intends.
7. It is submitted that what is stated on behalf of the respondent is that the publication is already made to mean that the fair copy of the materials are printed and furnished to the SCERT and that what remains is only the number of books to be printed based on the intends to be received from the schools concerned.
8. It is submitted that printing of number of books is not a time consuming process since the layout has been finalized and what remains is only the actual web printing which can be done within a few hours after the receipt of the actual intends from the schools."
17. That apart, the 3rd respondent has also filed a statement dated 15.07.2022, wherein they have, inter alia, stated that after seeking the W.A.688/2022 :: 16 ::
demand for textbook from the students, it is understood that the Society cannot do the work with 15% royalty and with the permission of the department, it is decided to reduce the royalty to 5%. The present situation is entirely different. The 4th respondent society intimated the SCERT that they cannot carry out the printing work as the demand collected is through intend. It is also stated therein that the demand of Malayalam version textbooks collected from the schools through intend is very less and so even with 5% royalty, the said Co-operative Society cannot print the same.
18. Mr. Rajit, learned counsel for the appellant, submitted that the attempt of respondents 2 and 3 must be to ensure that students do not have to suffer heavy financial liability while undertaking their education.
Therefore, it is the duty of the third respondent/State Council of Educational Research and Training to prescribe the syllabus as well as publish the text books for students.
19. Learned counsel for the appellant further submitted that as far as contractual matters are concerned, there is no difference between a co-
operative society and a private person. Exts.P4 to P6 clearly mandates that all procurement/contracts having a value of more than Rs.25 lakhs shall be W.A.688/2022 :: 17 ::
done by tender to the e-procurement system. It is also submitted that the said decision is taken to enhance transparency and efficiency in public procurement activities.
20. Exhibit-P6 is the general guidelines brought up by the Union, wherein it is stipulated that procurement with estimated value of Rs.2 lakhs or above shall be done through the e-procurement system. In this case, the total volume of business is around 20 crores and going by the guidelines and store manual rules, the awarding of the contract can be only by way of e-tender. It is also submitted that the text books have all been priced almost the same price offered by the private publishers in the market.
Another contention raised by the learned counsel for the appellant is that in none of the Government Orders, the period of contract is specified.
Exhibit-P3 agreement also does not specify the tenure of the contract.
That apart, various other contentions were also raised in the appeal.
21. Mr. P. C. Sasidharan, learned standing counsel for the 4 th respondent, refuted all the statements made in the writ appeal and submitted that the printing of books is not a commercial job. For printing of academic materials, appellant cannot compel the respondent to call for W.A.688/2022 :: 18 ::
tender. The Government has issued the order for the better public interest and without any profit motive. The price alone is not the criteria for awarding a printing works of study materials. Moreover, the society is having high credentials among the academic world in the matter of printing and publishing study materials.
22. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the materials available on record.
23. Exhibit-P1 Government order dated 1.2.2021 is reproduced:
"Government of Kerala Synopsis General Education Department - Higher Secondary Text Books - Issuing order hereby authorising Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. for printing and distributing higher secondary text books Malayalam version of 26 subjects in 74 titles translated by the SCERT.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Education (M) Department G.O.(Ord.) No.885/2021/Gen.Edn. Dept. Dt. Thiruvananthapuram, 01/02/2021
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference:- 1. Letter dated 26/09/2020 of the Secretary, Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores.
2. Letter of General Education (Higher Secondary Director dt. 29/12/2020, No. ACDSPC (1)/188941/2020/HSE and meeting procedures.
3. Letter of SCERT Director dt. 19/01/2021, No. Programme 1/299/SCERT.
W.A.688/2022 :: 19 ::
Order
As per official language, high level committee text books were translated into Malayalam by SCERT and uploaded in its website. Thus, 74 titles on 26 different subjects were made available on the website. But, for various reasons, books could not be printed and distributed.
Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. had submitted that they are ready to print and supply the text books in Malayalam strictly following Government norms and at the price fixed by the Govt. Refer(1).
2. As the Government had requested the Director, General Education (Higher Secondary), and the SCERT Director, to give specific recommendations on the matters, a meeting of the SCERT Director, Calicut University Central Co- operative Stores Ltd. officials and the Joint Director (Academic) General Education was convened. As per their report ref. (2) Director, General Education and Director, SCERT ref. (3) submitted the recommendations to the Govt.
3. The Government went through the recommendations in detail. On the basis of this, the Government ordered the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. to print and distribute, on the following conditions, 74 titles in 26 subjects of Higher Secondary Text books translated by the W.A.688/2022 :: 20 ::
SCERT and uploaded in its website.
(i) A special committee, with prior approval of the Government, should be constituted to fix the prices of these text books. Such prices fixed by the committee will be approved by the Government.
(ii) The quality of printing should be in accordance with the standard fixed by the SCERT and the General Education (HS) Department. It is the responsibility of the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. to complete distribution of the text books in time.
(iii) The General Education (HS) Department should get the intend for the required text books and duly inform the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd.
(iv) Method of collecting the money in Malayalam text books should be the same followed by C-Apt at present.
Handing over the text books to the students and collecting the due amounts should be done by Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. The Education Department will have no financial commitment in this regard.
(v) The Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. should pay the royalty, expenses towards translation, 15% royalty wit its GST.
(as per Order of the Governor) A. Shahjahan Secretary"
24. G.O.(Ord.) No.2124/2021/Gen.Edn.Dept. dated 9.3.2021 issued by the General Education (M) Department, (Exhibit-P2), is reproduced:
"Government of Kerala Synopsis General Education Department - Higher Secondary Text Books - Issuing order to form Price Fixing Committee to fix prices of Malayalam version text books of 26 subjects in 74 titles, translated by the SCERT and to be printed and sold by W.A.688/2022 :: 21 ::
Calicut University Central cooperative Stores Ltd.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Education (M) Department G.O.(Ord.) No.2124/2021/Gen. Edn. Dept. Dt, Thiruvananthapuram, 09/03/2021
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference:- 1. G.O.(Ord.) No.885/2021/Gen.Edn.Dept. dt. 01/02/2021.
2. Letter of General Education (Higher Secondary) director dt. 06/02/2021, No.ACDSP (C) (1) 188941/2020/HSE.
Order The Calicut University Central Cooperative Stores Ltd. is hereby authorised to print and distribute 74 titles of 26 different subjects prescribed for 2021-22 scholastic year the SCERT translations in Malayalam and uploaded in its website.
A special committee constituted with prior govt. approval was authorised to fix the prices of the translated text books. The recommended prices could be implemented only with due sanction from the Govt. Ref.(1) On the basis of this condition the Calicut University Central Cooperative Stores Ltd. was included in the Committee formed for fixing the prices of the text books. General Education Director was the Chairman of the Committee. Director SCERT, Director of Printing and Secretary, Calicut University Central Cooperative Stores Ltd. were to be members of the price fixing committee as per recommendations of Director, General Education. Ref. (2). The Government examined the matter in detail. Accordingly, the Calicut University Central Cooperative Stores Ltd. was authorised to print and distribute 74 titles on 26 different subjects, the SCERT Malayalam translations published and uploaded in their website for the scholastic year 2021-2022. Conditions stipulated in government Order Ref. (1) wereto be strictly followed. Hence, a Committee was constituted in W.A.688/2022 :: 22 ::
the following format to fix the prices of these text books to be printed and distributed.
Chairman General Education Director, Thiruvananthapuram. Members
1. Director (State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)), Thiruvananthapuram.
2. Director, Kerala State Printing Dept., Thiruvananthapuram.
3. Secretary, The Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd., Kozhikode.
(as per Order of the Governor) A. Shahjahan Secretary"
25. G.O(Ord.) No.4367/2021/Gen. Ed. Dept. dated 01.10.2021 issued by the General Education (M) Department, is reproduced:
"Government of Kerala Synopsis General Education Department - Higher Secondary Text books - Higher Secondary Text Books translated into Malayalam in SCERT - Issuing order hereby fixing prices of 48 Malayalam version text books which are to be printed and sold by Calicut University Central co-operative Stores Ltd.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Education (M) Department GO(Ord.) No.4367/Gen. Ed. Dept. Dt. Thiruvananthapuram, 01/10/2021
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference:- 1. G.O.(Ord.) No.885/2021/Ge. Ed. Dept. dt. 01/02/2021.
2. G.O.(Ord.) No. 2124/2021/Gen.Ed.Dept. Dt. 09/03/2021
3. Letter of General Education director Dt. 16/09/2021, No.ACDSPC(10/188941/2020HSE.
W.A.688/2022 :: 23 ::
ORDER
1. The Calicut University Central Cooperative Stores Ltd. was authorised to print and distribute 74 titles on 26 different subjects the SCERT translations uploaded in their website for the scholastic year 2021-22 and the order was passed as per (1). On the basis of this order, a price fixing committee was formed with General Education Director as Chairman and SCERT Director, Kerala State Printing Dept. Director and the Secretary, Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd as members.
2. Among those text books, students are more likely to buy 48 of them this year itself. So the price fixing committee looked into the matter and fixed the prices of 48 books, and the minutes of the meeting was submitted to the Government Ref (3).
3. The Government examined the matter in detail and approved the decision of the committee. The Govt. hereby orders the Calicut University Co-operative Stores Ltd. No. 4347 to print and distribute higher secondary Malayalam translated text books for first and second years at the prices given below:
Price of First Year Text Books Sl. No. Name of Tex Book No. of Pages Price (Rs.) 1. Themes in world History 300 136 2. Business Studies I 382 165 3. Introduction of Sociology 134 65 4. Understanding Society 130 59 5. Computer Applications 318 145 (Commerce) 6. Indian Constitution at work 272 123 7. Political Theory 196 91 8. Indian Economic 248 113 Development 9. Statistics in Economics 178 84 10. Physics I 260 119 W.A.688/2022 :: 24 ::11. Physics II 214 99 12. Chemistry Part I 290 132 13. Chemistry Part II 222 102 14. Mathematics 558 248 15. Biology 434 194 16. Computer Science I 210 98 17. Computer Science II 190 85 18. Accountancy I (Financial 460 180
Accounting) 19. Accountancy II (Financial 364 136 Accounting) 20. India: Physical Environment 110 50 21. Fundamentals of Physical 160 75 Geography Price of Second Year Tex Books xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (as per Order of the Governor) Muhammed Haneefa M.M. Joint Secretary"
26. Government order dated 6.1.2022 issued by the General Education (M) Department is reproduced:
"Government of Kerala Synopsis General Education Department - Higher Secondary Text Books - Issuing order by amending the previous order which authorised the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd., to print and distribute the Higher Secondary Malayalam version text books of 26 subjects in 74 titles and translated by the SCERT.
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General Education (M) Department G.O.(Ord.) No.101/2022/Gen. Edn. Dept. W.A.688/2022 :: 25 ::
Dt., Thiruvananthapuram, 06/01/2022
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference:- 1. GO(Ord.) No.885/2021/Gen. Edn. Dept. dt 01/02/2021.
2. GO(Ord.) No.2124/2021/Gen.Edn.Dept. dt. 09/03/2021
3. GO(Ord.) No.4367/2021/Gen.Edn.Dept. dt. 01/10/2021
4. Letter of General Education Director dt. 10/12/2021 No.ACDSPCD/18894/21/HSE Order The Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. was authorised to print and distribute SCERT Malayalam Translations as per instruction from the Official Language High Level Committee. Ref. (1). Consequently, a price-fixing committee was constituted to fix the prices of text books to be printed as per govt order Ref. (2). Based on this, the price-fixing committee in its meeting discussed and fixed the prices of 48 books and was approved by the Government.
Ref. (3). On the basis of the Government order to print and distribute the text books at Government approved and fixed prices, an agreement was made jointly by the General Education Department, SCERT and Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. and the draft of the agreement Ref.
(v) was closely examined by the Government. Ref. (1) Royalty amount was fixed for the Malayalam Translated text books, and the expenses incurred in connection with the translation were added to the royalty, together comes to 15% and its GST, and this amount was to be paid to the SCERT by the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. ref (2). Based on the agreement between NCERT and SCERT, the price-fixing committee meeting held on 03/09/2021 held that the printer M/s. Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Ltd. need hand over to SCERT an amount equal to only 5% royalty on the total number of books printed along with 12% GST on the royalty. In the first meeting held on 24/12/2020 in connection with the printing of Malayalam Translations of Text books 15% royalty was based on SCERT Director's suggestion Ref. (1). Orders were issued and in the discussion that followed in the price-fixing W.A.688/2022 :: 26 ::
committee meeting the participants seriously considered whether the royalty could be reduced so as to help the student community, and it was decided to reduce the royalty to 5% and GST in order to supply the Malayalam Text books at a lower price. The price fixing committee unanimously accepted the suggestion to reduce royalty to 5% and its GST. Considering that the Cost Analysis was done on the basis of 5% royalty and its GST the Govt order was to be amended Ref. (4) on the recommendation of the Director, General Education.
2. In the above-mentioned circumstances, Ref (4) 15% royalty and its GST mentioned in govt order para (3)(v) is amended as 5% royalty and GST.
3. Refer (1). Govt order with the amendment is tenable.
(as per Order of the Governor) A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish Principal Secretary"
27. Exhibit-P3 tripartite agreement entered into between respondents 2 to 4 dated 5.2.2022 is reproduced:
"AGREEMENT ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT made on this day of 05 th February 2022 between the Director of Santhinagar, General Education, Higher Secondary Wing, Housing Board Buildings, Thiruvananthapuram (hereinafter referred to as DGE) on the first part, the Secretary, The Calicut University Central Co-operative stores Ltd No.4347 (herein after referred to as CENTRAL STORES) on the second part and the Director, State Council of Educational Research and Training, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram (herein after referred to as SCERT) on the third part (which expression shall, when the context so admits or applied, be deemed to include the successors in interest and legal representatives as well of all the three parties).
W.A.688/2022 :: 27 ::
Whereas, CENTRAL STORES as per Government order GO(Rt) No.885/2021/GEdn. dated:01/02/2021, has been entrusted with the responsibility of printing and supplying text books, translated to Malayalam by SCERT for the use of Higher Secondary classes.
Whereas, to fix prices of these newly introduced translated titles, a price fixing committee was constituted vide GO(Rt)No. 2124/2021/Gedn dated 09/03/2021.
Whereas, prices were fixed for 48 titles by the committee which was approved by Government vide GO(Rt) No.4367/2021/G.Edn dated 01/10/2021, all of which shall form part of this agreement.
NOW THESE PRESENTS WITNESS AND IT IS AGREED AMONG THE PARTIES AS FOLLOWS:
SCERT agrees that it will execute agreement with the NCERT for obtaining the copy right permission for the text books adopted from NCERT and supply authenticated soft and hard copies of the same to the CENTRAL STORES.
SCERT agrees that the proofs of the text books supplied by the CENTRAL STORES shall be verified and returned with a certificate of verification to enable the CENTRAL STORES to take final prints.
CENTRAL STORES hereby agrees that
(i) Text books shall be printed in 80gsm paper and cover in 220gsm white board.
(ii) The maximum selling price of the text books shall be the same as mentioned in the GO(Rt)No.4367/2021/G.Edn dated 01/10/2021.
(iii) Books shall be distributed to the Principals of the Government, Aided and Unaided Higher Secondary Schools at their office as per the indents submitted within the agreed time limit.
(iv) Offline indents from schools under Directorate of General Education (Higher Secondary Wing) shall not be accepted at CENTRAL STORES.
W.A.688/2022 :: 28 ::
(v) To replace damaged text books, if any, reported by the Principals within 10 days of delivery.
(vi) Distribution of Text books to late indented schools or to any other institutions shall only be started after the completion of distribution of text books to schools those who are indented in stipulated time.
(vii) To pay royalty to the SCERT @ 5% of the price of the total copies of the text books printed and GST @ 12% on the total value of royalty The conditions stated in the agreement signed by publication division of NCERT and director of SCERT(vide letter no. F26-04/2006/Pub/TCS dated 17/03/2021) will also applicable to CENTRAL STORES. (As per GO(Rt)no. 101/2022/Gedn dated 06/01/2022) To print and supply the translated text books to schools before 31/05/2022.
CENTRAL STORES shall supply text books to the Unaided Higher Secondary Schools against advance payment to the bank account of the CENTRAL STORES for the whole quantity of text books indented.
CENTRAL STORES agrees to supply text books to the Government and Aided Higher Secondary Schools in advance and to grant a period of one month to the Principals to pay the price by directly remitting to the bank account of the CENTRAL STORES or by way of DD/ cheque taken in favour of The Secretary, The Calicut University Central Co operative stores Ltd No.4347 payable at Malappuram. (Grace time is granted to the Principals as they have to sell the books to the students and remit the collected price amount to CENTRAL STORES). Principals can return the unsold books within a period of two months. Otherwise it will be the sole liability of the principal to pay the amount of the books indented.
CENTRAL STORES agrees to allow a discount @ 15% of the total price of the indented text books to all Higher Secondary Schools (Government, Aided and Unaided) W.A.688/2022 :: 29 ::
CENTRAL STORES agrees to furnish progress report of the printing and distribution of text books to the DGE on a quarterly basis.
In the event of any dispute among the parties in respect of the contract, the matter will be referred to the government and the decision of the Government will be binding to all the three parties."
28. Guidelines for e-procurement under Central Public Procurement Portal dated 7.6.2019 is reproduced:
"GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR e-PROCUREMENT UNDER CENTRAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PORTAL (https://eprocure.gov.in) 7th June, 2019 Office memorandums dated 30th March, 2012, 9th Jan, 2014 & 21st January, 2016 and other OMs (please refer 'Instructions related to CPPP' at eprocure.gov.in) issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance mandates all Ministries / Department of Central Government their attached and subordinated offices, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and Autonomous / Statutory Bodies to commence e- Procurement in respect of all procurements with estimated value of Rs. 2 lakhs or above w.e.f 1.4.2016 by selecting eProcurement service provider of their own choice. Also refer Rule 159 and Rule 160 of GFR 2017 regarding publication of tender related information on CPPP as well as receipt of e-bids.
NIC facilitates Ministries/ Departments/others in complying with above guidelines through application modules available under Central Public Procurement viz e-Publishing (eprocure. gov.in/epublish/app), e-procurement (eprocure. gov.in/ eprocure/app) and XML data transfer. Ministries/Departments/others which obtain bids in physical format may use e Publishing module of CPPP for publishing W.A.688/2022 :: 30 ::
of tender related information. Ministries/Departments which do not have a large volume of procurement or carry out procurements required for day to day running of offices and also have not initiated e Procurement through any other solution provider may use the e-Procurement solution developed by NIC, if desired. The same is available under the Central Public Procurement (CPP) Portal at URL: eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app. Ministries/Departments with large volume of procurement other than of the nature mentioned above may either use the e-Procurement solution developed by NIC or engage any other service provider by following due process.
Ministries/Departments, which are already carrying out e- Procurement through other service providers or have developed e-Procurement solutions in house, may continue to do so, ensuring that conditions/guidelines provided in the above OMs of DoE / GFRs are fulfilled. They may publish tender related information on CPPP using XML data transfer. For further details, please refer the XML Help Document at available at https://eprocure.gov.in/cppp/sites/default/ files/eproc/XMLStepbyStepDocument.pdf or mail to cppp- [email protected] The table below shows the key differences between e- Publishing module and e-Procurement module of NIC accessible through the CPP Portal.
e-Publishing module e-Procurement module
1. Entails publishing of all 1. Covers the complete tender enquiries, corrigenda tendering process starting from thereto and awards of contract online publishing of tender thereon on the CPP Portal. enquiries, online bid submission by the bidders, online bid opening, uploading of bid evaluation results and publication of award of Contract.
Under e-Publishing, the User Under e-Procurement, the Organisations will continue to complete tendering, including W.A.688/2022 :: 31 ::
invite bids in paper based the submission of bids by the format. bidders, will be online.
2. Under the e-Publishing 2. Under the e-Procurement module, the User Organisations module, the User Organisations are required to define two roles will be required to define two for their officials authorised to additional roles apart from the use this module, viz. Tender Creator and Tender Publisher as in e Publishing, viz.
a. Tender Creator/ Procurement a. The role of Bid Opener is Officer Admin - responsible for Critical for e-Procurement. Bid filling up and uploading the openers should be identified details of a tender enquiry / for each tender at the time of corrigenda / award of Contract publishing of the tender on the CPP Portal. Enquiry.
b. Bid Evaluator - authorised to b. Tender Publisher - upload the results of the responsible for publishing the various stages of bid Evaluation tender enquiry / corrigenda / on the CPP Portal. award of contract created by c. Minimum of 4 Bid openers the Tender Creator on the CPP must be configured against Portal. each tender to avoid any issues in tender opening d. It is suggested to have minimum 5 Digital Signature Certificates to start with.
3. All authorised department 3. All authorised department users, from the User users, from the User Organisations, can login using a Organisations, will be required login ID and password assigned to have valid Digital Signature to them, to operate the e- Certificates (DSCs), in addition Publishing module of the CPP to their user ID and password, Portal. They do not need any to be able to operate the e-
Additional mode of Procurement Module.
authentication.
4. e-Publishing does not require 4. e-Procurement requires the the bidders to enrol on the CPP bidders to enrol on the CPP Portal, since the bids will Portal, using a valid Digital continue to be submitted in the Signature Certificate (DSC) and paper based format. Valid email address. The bidders will be required to W.A.688/2022 :: 32 ::
submit their bids online on the e-Procurement module.
The following document provides the pre-requisites and guidelines for using the e-Procurement module of NIC under CPPP.
A. Enrolment on e-Procurement module under CPPP To enrol, each User Organisation (Ministry/ Department, attached or subordinated office) should follow the steps listed below:
I. Provide GePNIC On-boarding Form Intending Organisations may provide the GePNIC On- boarding Form available at Annexure II compiled request for all Regional centres, if any, through their HQ on their Letterhead, mentioning the Tender Floating Units and approx. Tender Volume to be published from each Unit. These details would facilitate NIC in estimating the load on the back-end/ infrastructure and other support system required to support concerned Ministries/Departments/ Organisations under CPP Portal. NIC may submit a proposal indicating the timelines and cost considerations to augment (if required) in providing required eProcurement support to Ministries/Departments/ Organisations under CPPP. II. Acquire Digital Signature Certificates(DSCs) To carry out e-Procurement using NIC's e-Procurement Module, the authorised users of the User Organisation will be required to obtain valid DSCs. Authorised users will be required to procure DSC (both Signing and Encryption) of Class-III DSCs. The list of empanelled DSC vendors is available under Information About DSC link at point no.8. It is recommended to acquire minimum 4 DSCs along with encryption certificate by each TIA locations. III. Selection/ Nomination of Nodal Officer Each User Organisation (Ministry/ Department, attached or subordinated office) is required to nominate one official as nodal officer in eProcurement module who would manage W.A.688/2022 :: 33 ::
user accounts of concerned user organisation in the eProcurement module. For details, please refer Annexure-1. User Organisations should submit filled-in Nodal Officer Account Creation form to NIC / [email protected]. On creation of nodal officer account in eProcurement module under CPPP, Nodal officer should (a) Set Password & (b) Mapping of DSC with the account.
IV. Setting up of Organizational Hierarchy for mapping on the CPP Portal Every User Organisation has to ensure that their organisational structure/hierarchy (of tender floating locations only) is properly mapped in e-Procurement Module. The sample format given under Annexure 1 may kindly be modified according to user organisation hierarchy and may mail to NIC/ [email protected] for its creation. V. Creation of User Accounts for officials of the User Organisation The Nodal Officer/ sub-Nodal Officer(s) of each User Organisation will authorise users within the organisation for various roles such as Tender Creator, Tender Publisher, Bid Opener and Bid Evaluator who would use the e- Procurement module. For further details, please refer Annexure 1.
VI. Mapping of DSCs for all user accounts created in the User Organisation The authorised users will be required to Set Password as well as map their DSCs with their respective user profiles created by the Nodal Officer on the e-Procurement module. VII. Assistance in floating of First /Pilot Tender in selected locations User Organisation has to modify its tender document for e- Procurement (e-compliance) prior to publishing on the eProcurement module under CPPP. Notice Inviting Tender in pdf format is mandatory. Also, e-Compliant Tender Document is required.
User Organisation, if required, may request NIC / cppp- [email protected] well in advance, for any assistance in floating of W.A.688/2022 :: 34 ::
its first/pilot Tender. Based on the availability of manpower with NIC prevalent at that time, may provide required support at selected locations. Deputed manpower would guide user organisation on e-Tendering aspects only. Logistics support, if any, may be provided by concerned user organisation.
If required, for onsite continuous hand holding support / training services in user organisation, Facility Management Partner (FMP) manpower may be hired through NICSI empanelled vendors in consultation with NIC. VIII. Training / Assistance in implementing eProcurement Solution of NIC Users Organisations may attend training on eProcurement under CPPP at:
1. The training session of "Training Program on Public Procurement" held at National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad
2. Web learning sessions (daily) on eProcurement.
Details and schedule for above mentioned training is available on https://eprocure.gov.in/cppp/trainingdisp"
29. Giving due consideration to the rival submissions and the material on record, we are of the view that, in the impugned judgment, the writ court has given valid reasons, as to why the work of translations has been entrusted to Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited -
4th respondent, a Co-operative Society. Such entrustment has been done, in the best interest of the students.
30. The reasons for reaching the royalty have also been considered by the writ court, wherein it has been categorically found that, though W.A.688/2022 :: 35 ::
initially, as per Exhibit-P1 order dated 01.02.2021, royalty has been fixed at 15%, subsequently, a tripartite agreement has been entered into between the Government, SCERT, and the 4th respondent, and it was on that basis, the royalty has been reduced to 5%.
31. As rightly held by the writ Court, when Government, which is the final authority to decide as to whom, the work of translation has to be given, the petitioner cannot compel the Government to entrust to him the said work. Work of translation of text books cannot be expected to be given only to private agencies and it is always open to the Government to award the work to Co-operative societies also, and in the case, Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited - the 4 th respondent. Work of translation has to be done expeditiously.
32. Indisputably, Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited - the 4th respondent, is a society functioning in the Calicut University. What is the best interest of the students community, is the exclusive domain of the Government, and no private agency can compel the Government that the work be entrusted to them, in the case on hand, the appellant.
W.A.688/2022 :: 36 ::
33. Giving due consideration to the material on record, we are of the view that the contention of the appellant that there is clandestine manner in awarding the contract, is unacceptable. So also, the contention that there is blatant favouritism shown to the 4th respondent - Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited, Malappuram district, cannot be accepted. There is no reason as to why a political colour is given, just because, contract is awarded to a society in Calicut University.
33. Government Orders issued periodically, explain the reasons for entrusting the work to the Calicut University Central Co-operative Stores Limited/respondent No.4.
34. In the light of the above discussion, we found no justifiable reasons to interfere with the impugned judgment.
In fine, Writ Appeal is dismissed.
Sd/-
S.MANIKUMAR CHIEF JUSTICE Sd/-
SHAJI P. CHALY
JUDGE
krj
W.A.688/2022 :: 37 ::
APPENDIX
PETITIONERS ANNEXURES:-
ANNEXURE 1 COPY OF THE ORDER G.O.(ORD).NO.885/2021/
GEN.EDN.DEPT DATED 01.02.2021 ALONG WITH ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
ANNEXURE 2 COPY OF THE ORDER G.O.(ORD).NO.101/2022/ GEN.EDN.DEPT DATED 06.01.2022 ALONG WITH ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
ANNEXURE 3 COPY OF THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RECEIVED FROM THE 2ND RESPONDENT UNDER THE RTI ACT ALONG WITH ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
ANNEXURE 4 COPY OF THE ORDER G.O.(ORD).NO.4367/2021/ GEN.EDN.DEPT DATED 01.10.2021 ALONG WITH ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
RESPONDENTS' ANNEXURES:
ANNEXURE-R4(A): COPY OF THE TRI-PARTY AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BETWEEN RESPONDENTS 2 TO 4 DATED
05.02.2022.
ANNEXURE-R4(B): COPY OF THE INDENT FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2022-2023.
//TRUE COPY// P.A. TO C.J.