A MEDIUM LARGE TRANSPORT WAS DISPATCHED IN NON COMPLIANCE WITH A SVCABLE FUEL QUANTITY INDICATOR DEFERRED AS INOP PER CREW REQUEST.

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FLT WAS AN ORIGINATING MORNING FLT FROM ZZZ-DCA. FLT RELEASE INDICATED THAT THE R FUEL QUANTITY INDICATING SYS HAD BEEN DEFERRED. CHKED ACFT MAINT LOG TO VERIFY DEFERRAL AND TO CHK THAT IT WAS WITHIN THE TIME LIMITS SPECIFIED IN THE MEL. DISCOVERED THAT THE ACFT HAD COME OUT OF A 'B' CHK 2 DAYS BEFORE AND IT WAS AT THIS TIME THAT THE R FUEL QUANTITY INDICATING SYS HAD BEEN DEFERRED. THIS WAS WITHIN THE 10 DAY TIME LIMIT; AND THE MAINT DEPT HAD JUST SIGNED OFF ON THE AIRWORTHINESS RELEASE A COUPLE OF HRS BEFORE MY FLT. ACFT WAS FUELED FOR THE FLT; MECHS VERIFIED THE FUEL LOAD IN THE R MAIN TANK WITH THE DRIPLESS STICKS AS REQUIRED BY THE MEL; AND MADE THE REQUIRED LOGBOOK ENTRY THAT THE FUEL LOAD HAD BEEN VERIFIED FOR THAT TANK. DURING THE RECEIVING CHK; I TESTED THE FUEL INDICATING SYS. ALL TANK QUANTITIES TESTED AND INDICATED NORMAL (EVEN THE R QUANTITY SYS). EVERYTHING WAS IN ORDER. WE DEPARTED FOR DCA. ENRTE; WE DID AN ENG TREND AND ENTERED THAT INFO IN THE ACFT MAINT LOG. AFTER ENTERING THE TREND INFO INTO THE LOG; I REVIEWED OTHER MAINT DISCREPANCIES THAT HAD BEEN ENTERED DURING THE 'B' CHK. IT WAS AT THAT TIME I QUESTIONED IF THE CORRECT FUEL QUANTITY INDICATING SYS HAD BEEN DEFERRED. THE MAINT DISCREPANCY WRITE-UP APPEARED TO INDICATE THAT THE L SYS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEFERRED -- NOT THE R; AS WAS ACTUALLY DEFERRED IN THE CORRECTIVE ACTION WRITE-UP. UPON ARR IN DCA; CALLED MAINT CTL TO CLARIFY THE DISCREPANCY WRITE-UP AND SUBSEQUENT DEFERRAL. MAINT CTL CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE WRONG INDICATING SYS HAD BEEN DEFERRED BASED ON THE DISCREPANCY WRITE-UP AND THE WORK ORDER THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IT. MADE LOGBOOK ENTRY THAT THE DEFERRAL WAS IN ERROR; AND THAT THE L SYS WAS THE AFFECTED SYS. (THIS WAS DONE AS PER PHONE CONFERENCE WITH MAINT CTL.) FUELED ACFT; VERIFIED FUEL LOAD AS REQUIRED BY MEL; RETURNED TO ZZZ. A COUPLE DAYS LATER; MAINT CTL INFORMED ME THAT THE ORIGINAL DEFERRAL HAD BEEN CORRECT; THAT THE R SYS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEFERRED; AND THAT THE MAINT DISCREPANCY WRITE-UP HAD BEEN IN ERROR; ALONG WITH THE ASSOCIATED WORK ORDER.