INDIRA DEY Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petition impugns the action of the respondent No. 1 Union of India (UOI) of stopping the pension under Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension (SSSP) Scheme, 1980 to the petitioner and also seeking to recover back a sum of Rs. 7,11,270/ - alleged to have been wrongly paid as SSSP to the petitioner and of which amount, a sum of Rs. 3,60,000/ - was recovered in lumpsum from the pension account of the petitioner with the respondent No. 2 Bank of India, Green Park, New Delhi and the balance sum is being recovered by deduction at the rate of Rs. 15,000/ - per month from the Service Pension (IPS) of about Rs. 25,000/ - per month being received by the petitioner on account of her husband's service as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer with the respondent No. 1 UOI.

(2.) NOTICE of the petition was issued though no interim stay as sought, granted. The counsel for the respondent No. 1 UOI states that a counter affidavit was filed in the Registry but the same was returned under objection. The counsel for the respondent No. 1 UOI has been permitted to handover the said counter affidavit in the Court and the same is taken on record. The counsel for the petitioner states that there is no need to file rejoinder to the said counter affidavit. The counsel for the respondent No. 2 Bank states that the respondent No. 2 Bank has been acting as per the instructions of the respondent No. 1 UOI and thus there is no need to file a separate counter affidavit. The counsels have been heard.

(3.) THE respondent No. 1 UOI served a notice dated 30th January, 2015 on the petitioner asking the petitioner to show cause as to why the amount already drawn by her under the SSSP Scheme be not recovered from her, because as per the revised Policy Guidelines dated 6th August, 2014, a dependent pension is not sanctioned to a spouse of a freedom fighter if the spouse had been receiving pension on account of previous employment of the deceased freedom fighter and stating that since the petitioner was also receiving the Service Pension (IPS), she was not entitled for SSSP.