Constitution of India, Arts. 19(1)(g), 73 and 162 - Printing, publishing and selling of text books for recognised schools in the State of Punjab taken by the State Government exclusively in their own hands - Whether any fundamental right of the private publishers who were ousted from the business, contravened - Art. 19(1) (g) of the Constitution - Arts. 73 and 162 - Whether contain any definition of executive function - Union executive or the State executive - Whether legislation by Parliament or State Legislature on certain items appertaining to their respective lists, a condition precedent to the Union or State executive functioning in respect to them.

For a long period of time prior to 1950 the text books for recognised schools in the State of Punjab were prepared by private publishers with their own money and under their own arrangements and they were submitted for the approval of the Government: The Government approved some books on each subject as alternative text books. leaving it to the discretion of the Head Masters of different schools to select any alternative book on each subject. In May 1950 books on certain subjects (like agriculture, history, social studies, etc.) were prepared and published by the Government them- selves without inviting offers from private publishers. With respect to other subjects, offers were invited from "publishers and authors". The alternative method was given up and only one text book on each subject was selected. The Government charged as royalty 5% on the sale price of all the approved text books. In 1952 a notification was issued by the Government which omitted the word "publishers" altogether and invited only "authors and others" to submit books for approval by the Government. The "authors and others" whose books were approved, had to enter into an agreement in the form prescribed by the Government the principal term of the agreement was that the copyright in these books would vest absolutely in Government and the authors and others' would get or Royalty of 5% on the sale price of the text books. It was contended that the publishing, printing and selling of text books was thus taken by the Government exclusively into its own hands and the private publishers were altogether ousted from the business. The petitioners, who purport to carry on the business of preparing, printing, publishing and selling text hooks for recognised schools in the Punjab, preferred the present petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution praying for writs of mandamus directing the Punjab Government to with- draw the notifications of 1950 and 1952 on the ground that they contravened the fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under the Constitution.