Bombay High Court takes suo motu cognizance of State decision to stop publishing Dr. BR Ambedkar's works

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the decision of the Maharashtra government to halt its project of publishing the literature of Dr. BR Ambedkar. .A Bench of Justices PB Varale and SM Modak took note of a news item published in Marathi daily Loksatta dated November 24, 2021, about the project. The report stated that the volumes of literature being published were in high demand yet, due to logistical difficulties, it was not possible for the government press to meet the supply..“The publication is absolutely necessary and desirable for present and future generation. It is useful to members of legal fraternity as well as to general members” the Bench observed.Hence, it is necessary to look into the issue of halting of project and reason for the same. "Considering the nature of the grievance raised in the news item, we are treating the news item as a matter for public interest litigation," the Court said.They felt it a need to look into the reasons behind the halting of the project and considering the grievances, took suo motu cognisance..The Court took note of the following facts from the news reports:That certain literature had been published by the government under the caption “The writings and speeches of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar” in volumes;That the government had issued directions to print 9 lakh copies of the volumes of these speeches and writings of Ambedkar;That paper to the tune of ₹5,45,00,000 was purchased by the State, however only 33,000 copies had been printed in the last four years and the rest of the paper was lying in godowns;That out of the 33,000 only 3,675 copies are made available;Reason seemed to be that the government press is not equipped with the modern machinery and faces the issue of old machinery and inadequate human resources.That the government had published volumes 1 to 21 till date, but due to heavy demand, those were required to be re-printed from time to time..The Bench directed the registry to list the same as a public interest litigation (PIL) and place it before a Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta..[Read order]