Rajasthan High Court Allows Couple To Cure Defects In Application For 'Inter-Caste Marriage Help Scheme' With Almost 7 Yrs Delay

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand at the Rajasthan High Court granted relief to an inter-caste married couple whose claim under the Dr. Savita Ben Ambedkar Inter-Caste Marriage Help Scheme (“the Scheme”) was rejected for not curing the defect in the application within a period of one month.The Scheme was started by the Government of Rajasthan to promote marriages between Hindu and Scheduled Caste girls and boys. As per the Scheme such an inter-caste couple, upto the age of 35 years, was entitled to get Rs. 5 lakhs. Half of the amount was to be given within one year of registration of marriage for purchasing household goods, and the remaining amount was to be kept as fixed deposit in a joint account of the couple that could be claimed only after 8 years of marriage. The petitioners were an inter-caste couple who submitted their application under the Scheme in January 2018 which was automatically rejected, allegedly without any intimation to them. When an RTI was filed by the couple in July 2023, they became aware of the rejection after which a legal notice was sent to the authorities seeking permission to correct the defects in the application. The authorities refused to grant such permission on the ground that since the defects were not cured by the petitioners within the period of one month, the application was dismissed automatically. It was the case of the petitioners that they were not aware of the aforesaid process and the requirement of rectifying the defects in the application within a month, and hence the same was not done by them within the stipulated time period. After hearing both the sides, the Court granted liberty to the petitioners of filing a detailed application in the prescribed format after removing all the defects as pointed out by the authorities. Furthermore, it was observed that in case such an application was submitted by the petitioners within one month, the authorities were expected to decide the same within a period of 3 months thereafter by passing a speaking and reasoned order, and if the petitioners were found to be eligible under the Scheme, the benefits shall be provided to them. Accordingly, the petition was disposed of. Title: Mahesh Kumar Yadav & Anr. v the State of Rajasthan & Ors. Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 408Click Here To Read/Download Order

Rajasthan High Court Allows Couple To Cure Defects In Application For 'Inter-Caste Marriage Help Scheme' With Almost 7 Yrs Delay

Nupur Agrawal

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