1 FARAD CONTINUATION SHEET No. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE, BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO.5071 OF 2010 Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders or directions and the Registrar's orders. Court's or Judge's orders Coram: Smt. Nishita Mhatre, & Shri M. T. Joshi, JJ. Date : 20th July, 2011 Shri S.R. Sapkal, Advocate, holding for Shri V.D. Sapkal, Advocate for the Petitioner. Shri K.G. Patil, AGP for Respondents. ---- 1. The petitioner is an educational institution, which is aggrieved by the decision of the State to refuse it permission to start a new secondary school in Urdu medium. According to the petitioner, the only reason for refusal, as stated by Respondent No.1, is that although the District Level Committee had recommended the petitioner's case, the State Level Committee had refused to do so. This decision was communicated by the Education Officer, on 26.2.2010. Hence, the present petition. 2 2. An affidavit has been filed by the Deputy Education Officer, Zilla Parishad, Aurangabad, in which he has stated that unless both the Committees, i.e. the State Level, as well as, the District Level Committee, recommend the opening of the new school, the State does not grant permission. It has also been stated in the affidavit that, in order to weed out applications which are received in large number, the State has adopted a policy not to permit to a new school to be opened within a particular radius of an existing school. This contention on the part of the State, is contrary to the decision of the Full Bench in Shikshan Prasarak Mandal vs. State of Maha., 2009 (5) Mh.L.J. 969. 3. In our opinion, therefore, the State would have to reconsider the petitioner's case, as the basis for denying the permission is erroneous. Merely because there is one school in the vicinity, it would not necessarily lead to an inference that no other Urdu medium secondary school should be started in that region. In fact, in the present case there are already three primary schools, 3 whereas, there is only one secondary school in the region. We see no reason, therefore, why the State Level Committee had refused to recommend the petitioner's case. 4. Accordingly, the petition is allowed. The State will reconsider the application submitted by the petitioner for starting a new secondary school in Urdu medium, in the city of Aurangabad. (M.T. JOSHI, J.) (SMT. NISHITA MHATRE, J.) pnd/wp5071.10