Petitioner sought scholarship/fee reimbursement. Claim rejected due to alleged error in bank account number (extra zero). This Court found the error innocent and directed the Director to consider the claim on merits within three weeks.
Directed Director, Social Welfare Department, U.P. to consider the petitioner's claim on merits within three weeks.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
Court No. - 33
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 60396 of 2017
Petitioner :- Sneha Singh Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Prem Shankar Kushwaha,Adesh Kumar Kushwaha,Archana Singh Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Rohit Pandey
Hon'ble Manoj Misra,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner; learned Standing Counsel for respondents 1 to 3 and Sri Rohit Pandey for respondent no.4.
The petitioner has made claim for postmatric scholarship/fee reimbursement for the academic sessions 2015-16 and 2016-17. However, no reimbursement was made on ground that the petitioner made a mistake in filling one digit of bank account number in the online submission of application form.
On the submission made and the averments made in the petition, on 18th December, 2017, this Court passed following order :
"The perusal of the record indicates that the claim of the petitioner for grant of scholarship and fee reimbursement for the year 201516 had been rejected on the ground that operations were suspended and therefore, credit failed. In so far as the academic session 2016-17 is concerned, the transaction could not be completed on account of the report of the Bank that the account number did not exist.
The petitioner is seeking correction in details of the bank account number filled in by her in the on-line application form with the assertions that one digit in the said number had wrongly been entered by her.
Learned standing counsel prays for and is permitted to seek instructions and find out as to whether any correction can be made and the grievance of the petitioner can be redressed at the ends of respondent no. 2.
As prayed, list this matter on 3 January, 2018."
Pursuant to the above order, learned Standing Counsel has obtained written instructions from the Director, Social Welfare, U.P.
According to the written instructions, the petitioner had filled bank account number as 04853001500175500 in place of 4853001500175500. It is the stand taken by the respondents that since the bank data was incorrectly filled in online submission, the claim for reimbursement of
scholarship/fee reimbursement was rejected.
From perusal of the written instructions obtained by learned Standing Counsel, it appears that the mistake was of placing 'Zero' ahead of digit 4. However, when a 'Zero' is placed ahead of digit then it carries no meaning whereas when it is placed after a digit then it carries meaning. The mistake appears to be an innocent mistake, therefore this Court considers it appropriate to direct the second respondent (The Director, Social Welfare Department, U.P., Lucknow) to consider the claim of the petitioner on merit if it is otherwise sustainable. A decision in that regard shall be taken within a period of three weeks from the date of filing certified copy of this order before him.
With the aforesaid observation/direction, the petition stands disposed of.
Order Date :- 10.1.2018. Rks.
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the petitioner's claim for scholarship/fee reimbursement can be reconsidered given an innocent clerical error (extra zero) in the bank account number during online submission.
Whether the impugned orders of the learned Standing Counsel, dated 18-12-2017 and 3-1-2018, can be disposed of on merits or required to be remanded.
Sneha Singh
State Of U.P.
Director, Social Welfare Department, U.P.
Manoj Misra
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
