UNION OF INDIA Vs. GURDEV SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal is directed against the order of learned Single Judge dated 26.04.2012, directing the grant of freedom fighters pension by the Union of India under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme inclusive of arrears with interest. It is the case of respondent No. 1 that he took part in Quit India Movement in the year 1942 and after independence he was recognized as a freedom fighter and received several invitations and honours on that count.

(2.) In order to ameliorate the sufferings of the freedom fighters, schemes were floated from time and time and the final modified scheme is Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme(for brevity, 'the Scheme'), which came into force in the year 1980. Since records are often very old, both primary and secondary evidence has been held permissible and such secondary evidence can be in the form of affidavits of two co-prisoners who are already recipients of freedom fighters pension and who have proven jail term of minimum one year and were with the applicant in the same jail.

(3.) Respondent No. 1, in order to establish that he suffered imprisonment in the General Jail, Lahore, from 20.10.1942 to 15.08.1943, filed the affidavits of two co-prisoners. His claim is stated to have been accepted and the State Government granted pension to respondent No. 1 since 13.05.1988. However, the benefit under the Scheme was not made available to him by the appellant as the documents submitted were found not to be satisfactory. To come to this conclusion, the primary reason was that two persons who had filed affidavits in support of detention of respondent No. 1 had been allegedly issuing such certificates indiscriminately and one of them was not an eligible certifier. This denial resulted in respondent No. 1 filing the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking relief of grant of pension under the Scheme.