Judgement

DUTT J.:- This appeal by special leave has been preferred by the appellant, a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, assailing the judgment of the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) whereby the High Court dismissed the writ petition of the appellant challenging the order of the Government of Maharashtra dated May 31, 1985 refusing to grant permission to the member institutions of the appellant to hold the first year classes in Diploma in Education (D.Ed.) in the academic year 1985-86.

2. Considering that in course of time there would be acute need of trained primary teachers, the Government of Maharashtra invited applications from educational institutions for conducting D.Ed. course classes on "no grant basis" in the academic year 1984-85. A large number of applications were received by the Government from different institutions of the districts of the State. It appears that by an order dated September 9, 1984 of the Education and Employment Department of the Maharashtra Government, permission was granted to 47 institutions in Nagpur District and to 17 institutions in Bhandara District. These 47 institutions of the Nagpur District are members of the appellant-Society. The permission was granted on certain conditions and it was made clear that the order granting permission would be applicable only for the academic year 1984-85. The Director of Education, State of Maharashtra, by his letter dated May 21, 1985 instructed the institutions that they should be prepared to admit students for the academic year 1985-86 and also prepare a programme for facilitating admission. It is the case of the appellant that while the institutions had been going on with the preparation for admission of students for the next academic year, the members of the appellant-Society received an order from the Education Officer, Zilla Parishad, Nagpur, dated June 14, 1985, that the Government had not granted permission to 36 member institutions of the appellant-Society to hold first year classes for the year 1985-86 except that they would be entitled to hold the second year classes. In other words, as per the said order these 36 institutions have been directed not to admit students in the academic year 1985-86. This order was made by the Education Officer, Zilla Parishad, Nagpur, pursuant to the policy decision of the Government dated May 31, 1985.

3. Being aggrieved by the said order, the appellant moved the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) under Art. 226 of the Constitution challenging the propriety and validity of the same. The High Court, as stated already, dismissed the writ petition and hence this appeal by special leave.

4. Mr. Lalit, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, submits that the impugned order is arbitrary and unreasonable and interferes with the right to education of citizens.

5. In order to consider the said contention of the appellant it is necessary to refer to the case of the respondents. In the counteraffidavit of the respondents affirmed by Mr. H. P. Horker, Education Officer, Z.P., Nagpur and filed in the High Court, it has been stated that in Nagpur and Bhandara Districts, a large number of applicants applied for starting new D.Ed. colleges from time to time during the year 1984-85. 47 new applicants have been granted permission to start new D. Ed. colleges in Nagpur District and 17 new applicants were granted permission to start new D.Ed. colleges in Bhandara District during the year 1984-85. In addition to this, 5 new D.Ed. colleges in Nagpur District and 10 D.Ed. colleges in Bhandara Distrct were started unauthorisedly in 1984-85. A scrutiny of a large number of colleges pre-existing up to 1984 and the new D.Ed. colleges started during 1984-85, discloses that the number of new D. Ed. colleges started in all the districts except Nagpur and Bhandara Districts, is approximately equal to the additional need of the districts, while the number of the new D.Ed. colleges started in Nagpur and Bhandara