BIMALENDU KAMINIKANTO SENGUPTA Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who was 76 years when he filed the petition, according to the learned Counsel for the petitioner, is of 85 years today. The petitioner is a freedom fighter who challenges the validity and legality of letter dt. 24-3-1998 whereby respondent No. 2. refused to accept the claim of the petitioner for grant of pension. By an order dt 15-11-1999, this Court directed respondent No. 3 the Government of West Bengal to co-operate and provide necessary information to the officer deputed by respondent No. 2. It was further directed that the deputed officer shall also visit the petitioner for collecting necessary information required for deciding the claim of the freedom fighter's pension.

(2.) Admittedly, after adopting appropriate procedure, the Under Secretary to the Government of India in a communication dt. 26-5-2004 addressed to the Pay and Accounts Office (Pension and Miscellaneous), Ministry of Affairs, New Delhi informed that the Hon'ble the President has accorded sanction to grant of provisional pension @ Rs. 3000/-per month from 18-2-1998 onwards plus Dear-ness Relief at the rates admissible from time to time to the petitioner Bimalendu Sengupta. The said communication is placed on record.

(3.) The grievance of the petitioner now is that the petitioner had filed an application for grant of pension on 24-11 -1986 wherein the petitioner states that the pension be granted effective from the date of application. The stand adopted by respondent No. 2 is that after completing necessary formalities, the petitioner's application reached the office of the respondent No. 2 on 18-2-1998 and from that day the pension was granted to the petitioner. Therefore, the controversy now is about what should be the effective date of grant of pension; whether it should be from the date of application or it should be from the date when the respondent No. 2 received report and papers of the petitioner.