Curable defects in scheme declarations may be corrected when an inadvertent Form SVLDRS-1 error does not create an ineligible benefit.

An inadvertent entry of disclosure in the wrong column of Form SVLDRS-1 under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 was treated as a curable defect, not a fatal eligibility error. The court distinguished a bona fide clerical mistake from a deliberate misstatement made to obtain an unavailable benefit, and held that the incorrect entry did not create any ineligible entitlement. The claimant was permitted to seek correction before the competent authority, which was required to decide the request by a speaking order within the stipulated time.

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Issues: Whether an inadvertent mistake in the Form SVLDRS-1, by entering the disclosure in the wrong column, could be treated as a curable defect so as not to defeat eligibility under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019.

Analysis: The eligibility provisions of the Scheme were examined along with the nature of the entry error in the declaration form. The distinction was drawn between a deliberate misstatement intended to secure an undue benefit and an inadvertent mistake caused by oversight. Since the incorrect entry did not amount to a claim for a benefit to which the claimant was otherwise ineligible, the error was treated as one capable of correction. The parties also agreed that a fresh request for correction could be made before the competent authority, which would decide the matter by a reasoned order.

Conclusion: The mistake was held to be curable, and the claimant was permitted to seek correction before the competent authority for reconsideration of the Scheme benefit.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition was disposed of with liberty to apply for correction in the declaration form and with a direction that the competent authority decide the request by a speaking order within the stipulated time.

Ratio Decidendi: An inadvertent error in a scheme declaration form, which does not create an entitlement to an otherwise unavailable benefit, may be treated as a curable mistake and corrected for fresh consideration by the competent authority.

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