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The Himachal Pradesh High Court has upheld the Government's decision to merge Government Middle School, Sandyar, Bilaspur, with Government Senior Secondary School, Chhat, observing that the decision could not be termed arbitrary when the students had easy access to the nearby school.

The Court noted that the students had been shifted to a school located just 1.5 kilometres away by road and 500 metres on foot, and held that the merger would facilitate better utilisation of teaching and non-teaching resources at schools having appropriate student strength.

The Division Bench of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel and Justice Yogesh Jaswal stated that: “We might have had interfered with the order, had the distance of the School…been such that it was not possible for the students to have had easy access to the said School…we do not find any arbitrariness in the impugned decision.”

Background:

The School Management Committee of Government Middle School, Sandyar, Bilaspur, challenged the Himachal Pradesh Government's notification dated June 10, 2026, whereby the school was merged with Government Senior Secondary School, Chhat. The petitioner sought continuation of the Middle School as an independent institution along with its sanctioned teaching staff, infrastructure and educational facilities. 

The State submitted that the merger was undertaken to ensure optimum utilisation of educational resources, as the two schools were located within a short distance. At the time of merger, only 12 students were enrolled in Classes VI to VIII at the Sandyar school, and all of them were accommodated in nearby schools. 

The Court observed that the school to which the students were shifted was only 1.5 km by road and 500 metres on foot, ensuring easy accessibility. It held that the Government's decision to shift the students could not, per se, be termed arbitrary, particularly when the merger would allow better utilisation of teaching and non-teaching resources at schools with adequate student strength. 

The Court further observed that it might have interfered had the distance made access to the alternative school difficult. However, in the absence of any such grievance from the students, it found no arbitrariness in the impugned decisionand accordingly closed the proceedings.

Case Name: School Management Committee v/s State of H.P. & others

Case No.: CWP No.14564 of 2026

Date of Decision: 07.09.2026

Click Here To Read/Download Order



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