The Bombay High Court has noted that education, revered in Indian culture, has now become unaffordable, emphasizing that it is the constitutional responsibility of the state to ensure quality education reaches everyone.

While refusing to quash decisions taken by the Maharashtra government to grant permission to two organizations to establish educational institutions in Pune, a division bench of Justices A.S. Chandurkar and Jitendra Jain made these observations.

In its February 21 order, the High Court stated that it is not an expert in education policy matters and emphasized that the state government is the best authority to select the best options. The court further mentioned that mere power to choose cannot be deemed arbitrary.

"Pune is known as the 'Oxford of the East' for decades, and it has attracted students not only from India but other countries as well. This has resulted in Pune being a hub of educational institutions," the HC noted.

It remarked that due to the passage of time and the expansion of the city, there has been significant growth and competition in establishing colleges and schools not only within Pune but also in its surrounding areas.

"Although education is considered pious in our culture, with change in time, it has taken on a different colour and has become unaffordable," the HC said.

Adding that in such circumstances, it is the state's constitutional responsibility to ensure quality education reaches everyone to foster the growth and development of humanity, the court dismissed the two petitions filed by the Jagruti Foundation and the Sanjay Modak Education Society. These petitions challenged decisions made by the state government last year, which refused to grant them permission to establish educational institutions in Pune.

The petitioners were denied permission on the basis that they were newcomers in the field with no prior establishment of educational institutions and their financial standing was lower compared to those who were granted permission.

The bench, however, said a court can intervene only when the decision-making authority breaches the rules of natural justice or abuses its power.

"For any education institute to be set up or run, the nature of the land, financial availability, infrastructure, etc are certainly very crucial factors to be considered," the HC said.