JUDGMENT :

Sanjeev Kumar, J.

1. This petition, filed by the petitioners-private schools under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeks to challenge the following orders:

(i) Government Order No. S.O. 3466(E) dated 05.10.2020, issued by the Department of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, whereby major amendments were introduced in the J&K School Education Act, 2002, as applicable to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, providing for the constitution of the Committee for Fixation and Regulation of Fee of Private Schools, J&K (FFRC) by inserting Sections 20A to 20J, empowering the Committee to fix and regulate the fee structure of private unaided schools;

(ii) S.O. No. 177 of 2022 dated 15.04.2022, whereby further amendments have been made to the J&K School Education Act, 2002;

(iii) Order No. 01-FFRC of 2022 dated 09.03.2022 issued by the Committee for Fixation and Regulation of Fee of Private Schools, enhancing the transport fee by 12%, which had earlier been fixed by the Committee in October 2019;

(iv) Order No. 09-FFRC of 2022 dated 06.10.2022 whereby an increase of 14% has been allowed in the transport/bus fee;

(v) S.O. No. 233 of 2022 dated 10.05.2022, framing the J&K Private Schools (Fixation, Determination and Regulation of Fee) Rules, 2022, enabling and empowering the respondent Committee to exercise its powers regarding fixation, determination, and regulation of fees, which the petitioners contend is violative of the law declared by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in T.M.A. Pai Foundation and subsequent judgments;

2 Before we advert to the grounds of challenge, a brief look at the factual foundation laid by the petitioners in this petition is necessary.

3 The petitioners-private schools are unaided private educational institutions, duly recognized and registered under law, and managed by their respective Chairmen and duly approved Management Committees. They submit that they impart quality education and have never violated any statutory norms or the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court regarding fixation, determination, and charging of fees, including tuition fee, admission fee, and transport charges. Vide Government Order No. SO 3466(E) dated 05.10.2020 and SO 177 of 2022 dated 15.04.2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs introduced major amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Act, 2002 [“the Act of 2002”], inserting Sections 20-A to 20-J and creating the Committee for Fixation and Regulation of Fee of Private Schools, J&K. Thereafter, the Government issued S.O. 233 of 2022 dated 10.05.2022 framing the Jammu and Kashmir Private Schools (Fixation, Determination and Regulation of Fee) Rules, 2022 [“Rules of 2022”], which prescribe the powers and functions of the Committee under Rules 5, 6, and 7 of the Rules of 2022.According to the petitioners, although the Committee was intended to curb commercialization and profiteering, the amended provisions conferred sweeping powers enabling it to fix, determine, and regulate the fee structure of private schools. The petitioners contend that the functioning of the Committee has been inconsistent and arbitrary sometimes requiring schools to submit proposed fee structures for approval, and at other times unilaterally fixing the fee without any proposal from the schools. They further submit that the Committee has been determining fee without physical verification of factors mandated under the Act, such as location, infrastructure, and administrative expenditure. Consequently, the orders passed by the Committee are alleged to be violative of the Act of 2002 and, therefore, illegal.

4 It is submitted that the Hon’ble Supreme Court and various High Courts have repeatedly emphasized the need to encourage private, particularly unaided, educational institutions. In T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka, 2002 (8) SCC 481, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has categorically held that an educational institution is established for imparti