India, May 31 -- The Bombay High Court has stayed the proposed closure of 757 aided and unaided schools across western Maharashtra, observing that the state government acted in violation of the principles of natural justice by taking action without first granting the institutions an opportunity to be heard.

A division bench of justices Madhav J Jamdar and Pravin S Patil restrained the state government from taking any action against 433 primary schools and 324 secondary schools that were facing closure under two Government Resolutions (GRs) issued by the School Education Department on April 1 and April 2 this year.

The court held that the government's decision to shut down the schools without conducting individual hearings was legally un...