A Single Bench of the Delhi High Court has recently quashed the rejection of the Petitioner, Bajrang’s application to avail of the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme of Top Class Education for SC Students.
Upon verification, the Ministry had rejected the application via email dated 23rd September, 2021, on the ground that the Income Tax Return Certificate was invalid. The reason for the same was that the Petitioner did not file the `Income Certificate’ but instead had filed the Income Tax Return with the Acknowledgement Receipt.
Aggrieved petitioner approached the Delhi High Court with the present Writ petition.
The petitioner, represented by Dr. Amit George, argued that the authorities cannot take a hyper-technical approach when it comes to scholarships and similar schemes. The said scheme would have to be read broadly in favour of granting relief to eligible students. He further submits that the University itself does not doubt the entitlement and eligibility of the candidate.
On the other hand, Counsel for the Respondent, SGSPC Vivek Goyal, submitted that the document was wrongly submitted. Accordingly, the four slots, which were allotted to the University for scholarship students, have already been exhausted and the same have been released to four other candidates. Thus, it was argued further that scholarship cannot be granted.
The Single Bench observed that, “the scholarship is awarded to meritorious students. The background of the Scheme and the eligibility requires that the total annual family income has to be up to Rs.8 lakhs” upon perusal of the scheme.
“Considering these facts and submissions, in the opinion of this Court, a mere discrepancy in filing the Income Tax Return instead of the Income Certificate, despite the two documents evidencing the same parameters of income requirements, cannot lead to a situation where an eligible meritorious candidate is deprived of the scholarship.”, the Single Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh opined.
“A hyper technical approach obviously ought not to be taken in this matter. The Petitioner has also been diligent in replying, upon the discrepancies being pointed out by the Respondent. Thus, the Ministry ought to have considered the Petitioner’s candidature and ought not to have rejected the Petitioner’s application,” the court observed.
Thus, the rejection of scholarship was quashed and the Ministry was directed to process the Petitioner’s application for grant of scholarship under the impugned Scheme for the academic year 2020-21 and grant the scholarship to the Petitioner within eight weeks.
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