BRIJNANDAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is directed against the order dated 28-6-1989 issued under the signature of the Under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, vide his letter bearing No. 0/14/G/24678/74. By the impugned order the Freedom Fighter's pension granted to the petitioner at the rate of Rs. 200/- per month has been cancelled with a direction to the Government of Bihar to initiate legal action against the petitioner for mis-representation to get the pension and further to recover the amount of pension already drawn by the petitioner. The petitioner also further prays for issue of a writ of mandamus commanding and directing the respondents to restore the pension already granted with arrears and to continue to pay the same.

(2.) Brief facts may not be noted. The petitioner, claiming to be a Freedom Fighter and in this connection has suffered imprisonment first in the year 1930 from July to December and second time in 1942 from February to March, applied in the prescribed from for grant of pension. Along with the application from, he enclosed a certificate given by his co-prisoner in the Gaya Jail by name Shri Bigneshwar Mishra Ex. M.P. The said application was forwarded by the State Government to the Government of India and on the basis of the application supported by Co-prisoner's certificate and on the recommendation of the State Government, provisional pension was sanctioned to the petitioner vide letter dated 19-11-1975 by the 9th respondent. Pursuant to that, the petitioner was getting pension till 6-4-1978 and thereafter the pension was withheld.

(3.) It appears from the averments made in the petitioner's application and also from the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the 9th respondent that said Sri Bigneshwar Mishra, Ex. M.P., who had given a Co-prisoner's certificate to the petitioner, had later on filed an application to the effect that he gave the certificate to the petitioner under duress. Based on that and also on a report of the District Magistrate, Gaya, stating that the petitioner was not a genuine Freedom Fighter but had obtained the pension by a fraudulent means, the pension was suspended on the recommendation of the State Government. The State Government also recommended to take legal action against the petitioner for mis-representation. Accordingly, a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner to explain why the pension sanctioned should not be cancelled and the amount already paid be not recovered from him. A reply to the show cause notice was given by the petitioner, on the basis of which, the Additional Collector, Gaya, submitted a report. The report is annexed as Annexure-4 to the Writ petition. Concluding part of the report says that in absence of record it was not possible for him to answer correctly as to for what period the petitioner suffered imprisonment. It is also stated that though the name of the petitioner finds a place in the court record, in the absence of father's name and other details, it was not possible to connect that with the petitioner. The Additional Collector also enclosed one certificate issued by one Nand Kumar Singh, said to have been a co-prisoner, stating that the petitioner was in jail only giving the year without giving the exact period of imprisonment suffered by the petitioner.