UNION OF INDIA Vs. INDRAJEET SACHIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Additional Solicitor General, representing the Union of India; counsel for the Bihar School Examination Board; as well as counsel appearing on behalf of the private- respondent.

(2.) The order under challenge in appeal is dtd. 17/1/2017, passed by the Learned Single Judge, where a direction and mandamus has been issued upon the Union of India to pay to the private-respondent scholarship within a period of four weeks under a scheme of scholarship, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The scholarship was named as "Inspire Scholarship".

(3.) The scheme of the "Inspire Scholarship" has been annexed as Annexure - 1 to the Letters Patent Appeal. A reading of the same would indicate that for promoting merit and encouraging quality students for higher education after Class-XII examination, 10,000 (ten thousand) scholarships were envisaged to be granted across the country for top one per cent of the toppers of the regional boards. The scholarship under dispute relates to the year 2014. The advertisement very clearly lays down the eligibility as well as the cut-off date for filling online applications alone. The server was to start functioning between 1 st of August, 2014 from 10 hours and would close by 31 of October, 2014 by 17 hours. No other mode of application for scholarship was entertainable.