Sabka Vishwas scheme relief where challan expiry after bona fide payment attempt could not defeat settlement benefit.

A bona fide attempt to pay the settlement amount under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 could not be defeated by expiry of the challan after an earlier RTGS payment had been accepted and later reversed for reasons not attributable to the petitioner. The HC applied the principle that a party should not suffer for impossibility or a failure beyond its control, and held that the scheme's object would be undermined if a technical lapse prevented settlement. The authorities were required to permit payment of the amount and then issue the discharge certificate.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner could be denied the benefit of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 because the amount payable under Form SVLDRS-3 could not be finally remitted owing to expiry of the challan, after an earlier RTGS payment had been accepted and then reversed.

Analysis: The petitioner's eligibility under the scheme and issuance of Form SVLDRS-3 were not in dispute. The material question was whether a bona fide attempt to pay within time, followed by failure caused by expiry of the challan and reversal of the amount for no fault of the petitioner, could defeat the scheme benefit. The Court applied the principle that a person should not be made to suffer for something impossible or beyond control, and relied on earlier decisions granting relief in comparable situations under the same scheme. The Court held that the object of the scheme would be undermined if a technical failure, not attributable to the petitioner, were treated as a bar to settlement.

Conclusion: The petitioner could not be denied the benefit of the scheme on the ground of expiry of the challan, and the authorities were required to permit payment of the settlement amount and thereafter issue the discharge certificate.

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