1. As the subject matter of the dispute raised in these Writ Petitions is common, they are heard and being disposed of together.

2. In order to translate Article 21-A of the Constitution of India, conferring fundamental right on the children of the age group of 6 to 14 years to free and compulsory education into a reality, the Parliament has enacted The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (for short "the RTE Act"). As a part of implementation of the provisions of the RTE Act, the Government of India evidently initiated several measures. One such measure is providing free uniforms for all the children belonging to SC/ST/BPL families studying in Government schools. The Government of India, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, addressed letter No.15/4/2011-SSA(PR), dated 8-6-2011 to State Project Director, Rajiv Vidya Mission (Sarva Siksha Abhiyan)-respondent No.1 (for short “RVM”) in all these Writ Petitions. It is inter alia stated in this letter that as it was noticed that uniforms constitute an expense which poor families are often not able to afford and with a view to mitigate this problem, a schem