JUDGMENT

Dipankar Datta, C.J. - PRELUDE:

1. By a legislative exercise, which shall be noted hereafter in due course, the State of Maharashtra has placed an embargo in respect of 85% of seats available in colleges/institutions imparting education in the field of Health Sciences in Maharashtra. If such embargo were displayed on a signboard, it would read "No Admission for Outsiders in private unaided colleges". This batch of writ petitions attempts to remove such signboard and replace it, seemingly with "Admission for Outsiders is Allowed in private unaided colleges".

Statutory requirement for admission to Medical Courses in the State of Maharashtra and Allocation of Seats:

2. Admission to unaided private educational institutions in the State of Maharashtra imparting education in professional courses including imparting education in the field of Health Sciences is regulated by the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutes (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015 (hereafter "the 2015 Act", for short). Power is conferred by Section 23 of the 2015 Act to the State G