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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Prathiba M. Singh, J.
Vikash Shukla – Appellant
Versus
Ministry of Science And Technology – Respondent
W.P.(C) 6414 of 2020
Decided On : 23-02-2023
INSPIRE Scholarship - Eligibility Criteria - Post Offer Implementation Guidelines for Scholars - Clause 5 - Requirement of 6.0 CGPA - Cumulative CGPA
Fact of the Case:
The Petitioner sought directions for the release of the 3rd instalment of his scholarship under the INSPIRE Scheme and compensation for mental harassment and loss of career. The scholarship was withheld for the third year based on the claim that the Petitioner did not score 6.0 CGPA in the second year.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the Petitioner's CGPA for the first and second semesters was 7.45 and 6.32, respectively, meeting the eligibility requirement of 6.0 CGPA. The Respondent's claim of 6.0 CGPA in core subjects was not supported by the Post Offer Implementation Guidelines for Scholars or the INSPIRE Scheme.
Issues: The main issue was the interpretation of the requirement of 6.0 CGPA for the INSPIRE Scholarship and the denial of the scholarship to the Petitioner based on this requirement.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the requirement of 6.0 CGPA is in the aggregate and not in the core subjects, as per the Post Offer Implementation Guidelines for Scholars. The rejection/non-grant of scholarship to the Petitioner based on the Respondent's interpretation was deemed untenable.
Final Decision: The court directed the release of the third year's scholarship amount to the Petitioner along with simple interest, and awarded costs to the Petitioner to be paid by the Respondents.
JUDGMENT
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through video conferencing.
2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner - Sh. Vikas Shukla seeking directions to the Respondents to release/pay 3rd instalment of the Petitioner's scholarship under INSPIRE Scheme as also seeking payment of compensation and damages for mental harassment and loss of career of the Petitioner.
3. The Petitioner passed his 10+2 examinations in 2015 from the Madhya Pradesh Board and scored 92.6% in his Board examinations with 99 marks in Mathematics, 94 marks in Physics and 97 marks in Chemistry. He was also given a certificate by the Madhya Pradesh Secondary Examination Board as being eligible for the scholarship for higher education under the INSPIRE Scheme. Thereafter, he took admission in B.Sc. (Hons.) Mathematics in Ramjas College, Delhi University.
4. The Respondent - Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology offered him the INSPIRE Scholarship vide letter dated 17th January, 2017. The said letter reads as under:
"Subject: Provisional Offer of INSPIRE Scholarship for students of 2015 Batch
Dear Mr. Vikash Shukla,
On the basis of your application submitted under Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) component of the scheme, Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE), I am delighted to inform that you have been provisionally selected for the award of INSPIRE Scholarship for the period starting 2015, which is the year of your enrollment in B.Sc./Int. MSc. or Int. M.S. Course. Your INSPIRE Scholarship Registration Number is 201500050587.
The final selection for scholarship will be subject to the satisfaction of norms as listed in the Post Offer Implementation Guidelines, which is enclosed along with this offer letter.
The total amount of the Scholarship is Rs 80,000/- per annum, out of which Rs 60,000/- as scholarship @ Rs 5000 per month and Rs 20,000/- per year shall be reimbursed for expenses towards summer research internships in research/academic institutions. The maximum tenure of this Scholarship is five years, or until the completion of M.Sc./Int. M.Sc. /Int. MS course, whichever is earlier, provided you continue to maintain academic excellence and performance. Please note that a student cannot avail more than one scholarship at any time. Further, on acceptance of the INSPIRE scholarship by a student, switching over to other government scholarship schemes including KVPY, is not allowed at any stage without the due permission of the DST. The Scholarship will be provided directly to you through the State Bank of India (SBI) to your bank account. To facilitate the transfer of Scholarship to your bank account, you are requested to open a normal Savings Bank Account in your name only, at any branch of State Bank of India (SBI) in the country, having no limit of cash transfer (Jandhan, Kiosk, Zero Balance Opening Account or similar type account may please avoided). Please note that joint account or account in Banks other than SBI will not be accepted. Upon opening of the Savings Bank account at SBI, you may please fill up the pro-forma available on the online web- portal with the requisite information.
Please note that the submission of the documents such as SBI Bank account details, yearly Performance Reports and Mark Sheets is accepted only through the Online Portal. Please do not send any documents by post. The link to download the Performance Report format is available here 'www.inspiredst.gov.in/SHE_Performance_Report. pdf'
The validity of this Provisional Offer shall be 120 days from the date of Offer and no documents will be accepted after the prescribed time limit. For any assistance during online submission of documents, you can write to inspire.prog-dst@nic.in or call 0120- 4676260 (Mon-Sat,10AM to 5PM).
With best regards."
5. The conditions of the INSPIRE Scholarship are governed as per the Post Offer Implementation Guidelines for Scholars. The relevant part
The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the eligibility criteria for the INSPIRE Scholarship, specifically the requirement of 6.0 CGPA, and the court's determinat....
Eligibility for the INSPIRE scholarship is contingent upon timely application and compliance with administrative guidelines.
The court affirmed that students from weaker sections should not be denied scholarships due to procedural lapses if no dishonest intent is established.
A candidate selected under a scholarship scheme is entitled to benefits as per the scheme in effect at the time of application, regardless of subsequent amendments that may alter eligibility criteria....
Eligibility for scholarship benefits must be assessed based on the scheme in effect at the time of application, not subsequent amendments.
A hyper-technical approach in scholarship applications contradicts the objective of promoting education for underprivileged students, necessitating consideration of merit-based eligibility.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the obligation of the college to pay stipend to postgraduate students as per regulations, and the requirement for the petitioner to comply with the....
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