ANANT RAM Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER is aggrieved by the order passed by respondent No.1 rejecting his claim for award of freedom fighters pension. This is the second round of litigation to which the petitioner has been subjected.

(2.) PETITIONER has averred that he was a member of the Praja Mandal Movement, which was active in most of the princely States in India. According to him, all Praja Mandals were affiliated to the All India States People Conference, a Central Organization, of which late Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, later on the Prime Minister of India, was the Chairman. It has been submitted that the basic aim of the Praja Mandal was to secure the merger of 1 Whether the reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgement? yes the princely States with the Union of India, for which purpose Satyagrah and agitations were regularly organized. The petitioner is resident of Bilaspur, which was a princely State and one of the last to merge with the Union of India w.e.f. 12th October, 1948. Petitioner submits that he has been active in the Praja Mandal Movement since 1946, which was banned by the erstwhile Ruler of Bilaspur, as a result of which, he was detained, beaten up by the police and later on externed from the State of Bilaspur on the verbal orders of the Ruler. According to the petitioner, he remained externed from the State from 1946 to 1948.

(3.) PETITIONER submits that he was eligible both in terms of 1972 and 1980 Schemes. His application was rejected by the Union of India on the ground that it had been received after the expiry of period fixed in the Scheme. Another application was made by the petitioner in July, 1981, under the amended Scheme supported by all the requisite certificates. According to the petitioner, this application was received by the respondents in September, 1981, which fact has been acknowledged by the respondents vide Annexure PA addressed by respondent No.1 to the petitioner.