Dipankar Datta, J. - (1.) For appointment of dealers under the Rajiv Gandhi LPG Vitrak Scheme (hereafter the scheme) by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., the second respondent (hereafter HPCL), an advertisement was published in a Bengali daily on January 21, 2014 inviting interested individuals to offer their candidature. The advertisement contained all the particulars relating to eligibility of a candidate as well as the details of the locations where the aforesaid corporations wished appointment of dealers.
(2.) One of the conditions of eligibility was that the applicant must have a closing balance of Rs. 4,00,000/ - in a savings account of a bank/post office on the last date for submission of applications specified in the advertisement or corrigendum (if any). The last date for submission of applications was February 24, 2015 by 5.00 pm.
(3.) The petitioner selected Chunfuli in the district of 24 Parganas (South), an advertised location, for appointment as dealer by HPCL. The application, in the 'Standard Application Format', was submitted by him on February 19, 2014. Inter alia, against Sl. No. 10 of the format requiring an applicant to declare the amount in a savings account in a bank/post office, the petitioner disclosed that he maintained a savings account with the United Bank of India and the closing balance was Rs. 4,20,000/ -. The note appended to Sl. No. 10 (hereafter 'the said note') reads: "The amount declared above in each case must be available as closing balance on the last date for submission of application as specified in the advertisement or corrigendum (if any) and the same would be verified during Field Verification".;