CWP No. 1210 of 2019 10.12.2019 Present: Mr. Ashok Dogra, Advocate, for the petitioner. M/s Somesh Raj & Dinesh Thakur, Additional Advocate Generals, for respondents No. 1 to 5. Mr. Pradeep Sharma, Advocate, for respondent No. 6. Petitioner before this Court is serving as a Drawing Master, having been appointed as such by the School Management Committee of Government Middle School, Jamnu, under Complex Government Senior Secondary School, Tattapani since 03.08.2012. His grievance is that he is not being released any Grant-in-Aid in terms of the Notifications issued by the respondent-State on 17th July, 2012, 12th August, 2014, 16th August, 2014 and 19th September, 2014. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that all other teachers, who have been appointed in the said School by the School Management Committee, are being released Grant- in-Aid and it is the petitioner, who is being left out for the said purpose. He contends that the said act of the respondents is arbitrary, because the State cannot be permitted to discriminate between similarly situated persons, i.e., teachers who are imparting education in the said School. Learned Additional Advocate General states that without prejudice to the stand which has been so taken by the State in the reply, it appears that the petitioner has not been released the Grant-in-Aid for the reason that the School, in which he has been engaged as such by the School Management Committee, does not has the minimum strength of students, as is required to enable release of Grant-in-Aid in favour of a Drawing Master. Prima facie, denial of Grant-in-Aid to a Drawing Master, primarily, on the basis of the School not having minimum strength of students appears to be arbitrary, especially when other teachers serving in the same School engaged as such by the School Management Committee, are being released Grant-in-Aid. Number of students studying in a School cannot be a valid classification for denying Grant-in-Aid as this classification cannot be said to be based on any intelligible differentia, especially when other teachers, who are imparting education to students less than 100 in the same School, are being released the Grant-in-Aid. At this stage, learned Additional Advocate General submits that before this Court passes any further order, he intends to have instructions. As prayed for, list on 31st December, 2019, to enable learned Additional Advocate General to have instructions. (Ajay Mohan Goel) Judge December 10, 2019 (bhupender)