PAPPU KESAVAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant is admittedly a freedom fighter. It is also admitted that he had suffered imprisonment. It is further admitted that he is a recipient of pension under the scheme formulated by the Government of Kerala for freedom fighters. But with all these plus points he failed to get pension under the Swathanthra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980 formulated by the Central Government. He is aggrieved by Ext.P8 order rejected his application for pension under the said scheme which will be referred to hereinafter as the Central Scheme. He filed the original petition under Art.226 of the Constitution for quashing Ext.P8 and for a direction to the Central Government to grant pension to him. Learned single Judge dismissed the original petition. Hence this appeal.

(2.) We have to mention at the outset that Shri M.V.S. Nampoothiri, learned Additional Central Government Standing Counsel, submitted that a counter was filed on behalf of the Central Government. But no counter has, in fact, come to the records even though a reference has been made by the learned single Judge to an unsatisfactory counter-affidavit sworn to by one Shri Y.V. Naranje, who was the Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Some scathing remarks were made by the learned single Judge regarding the mention of a particular name in the counter-affidavit. But the fact remains that the registry has not noted that any counter has been filed. Nor has any such counter been incorporated in the records. We record this without entering upon a finding whether a counter was, in fact, filed or not.

(3.) XXXX