Sabka Vishwas scheme compliance: belated payment allowed with interest, but the substantive writ relief was not granted.

A petitioner under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme was allowed to remit the quantified liability after expiry of the original payment period on payment of interest, because the delay was short, the quantified amount under Form 3 had attained finality, and the lapse arose during the COVID-19 lockdown with portal difficulties. The court treated the default as confined to the final compliance stage and permitted belated payment to show bona fides. At the same time, it held that this indulgence did not amount to acceptance of the substantive writ relief sought.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner could be permitted to remit the quantified amount under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme after expiry of the original payment period, on payment of interest, and whether such permission would amount to grant of the substantive relief sought.

Analysis: The quantified liability under Form 3 had attained finality and the petitioner had substantially complied with the Scheme, save for the final remittance step. The delay in payment was short and arose in the backdrop of the COVID-19 lockdown and the difficulty in operating the portal after the extended period. The order treated the delay as one affecting the last stage of compliance and considered it appropriate to allow remittance with interest, while making it clear that this was only to demonstrate bona fides and not a full acceptance of the writ prayer.

Conclusion: The petitioner was permitted to pay the quantified amount with interest within the time granted, but the substantive relief sought in the writ petition was not accepted.

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