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2. In the State of Maharashtra, there are three categories of schools - Marathi Medium Schools, English Medium Schools, other non-Marathi Medium Schools. Some schools in all three categories are established by religious or linguistic minority groups. Establishment of new Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools are governed by respective Education Codes.

3. In the year 2000 a Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Bombay High Court complaining that large number of schools were being started in the State without following any norms. A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court considered the matter in Gramvikas Shikshan Prasarak Mandal v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. (AIR 2000 Bombay 437). By judgment dated 11.4.2000, the High Court directed the State Government to prepare a Master Plan, for granting permission to the Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools during 2000-2010, by reviewing and updating the existing state policies and schemes and by incorporating the guidelines suggested by the High Court, in its judgment. The decision clarified that the master plan will be only for Marathi Medium Schools. As regards English Medium Schools and other non-Marathi Medium Schools, no directions were issued. It was also stated that schools established by religious or linguistic minorities will not be governed by the proposed Master Plan.

(i) No financial assistance would be provided to any of the newly approved Higher Secondary classes even in future.

(ii) The Higher Secondary Schools should scrupulously follow the orders issued by the Government from time to time, as also the provisions of Secondary School Code and Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Services) Act, 1977 and the 1981 Rules framed thereunder.

(iii) The School administrations should not charge any fee from students in excess of the fees approved by the Government.

7. Though notice was issued to the respondents and served, the writ petitioner in the PIL (Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Sansthan Mahamandal) has not entered appearance. Though the State and its authorities did not challenge the order of the High Court, they supported the appellants and contended before us that the order dated 16.5.2006 was validly made. It was submitted that the Secondary Education Code governed the starting of Secondary and Higher Secondary schools; and that permission was granted to 1495 schools by order dated 16.5.2006, only after the District Level Committees recommended grant of permission to those schools, after verifying that the applicants fulfilled the requirements of the Education Code; that all permissions were on 'permanent no-grant basis' without any financial assistance and appropriate conditions were imposed to ensure that the schools were properly run; that the decision in Gramvikas Mandal (supra) required the master plan to be prepared only for Marathi medium schools and not for English medium or other Non-Marathi Medium schools and schools run by religious and linguistic minorities; that the High Court had set aside the order dated 16.5.2006 in regard to all 1495 schools, even though it related to a large number of schools which were not required to be covered by the master plan; and that the High Court had ignored the fact that its Aurangabad Bench had permitted the State Government to sanction schools on permanent unaided basis, even without the master plan, for the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. It was also contended that the High Court could not have quashed the permission granted to the 1495 schools, without hearing them and without impleading them as parties to the writ petition.