The Pension Scheme for freedom fighters cannot be construed in a manner that the requirements prescribed are rendered a dead letter: Bombay HC

By - Pavni Dada*

The petitioner, Smt. Rukhminbai submitted that her husband, Asaram Daulatrao Kale (deceased), who died on April 5, 2017, was entitled to pension payments. On November 24, 1994, Asaram Daulatrao was alleged to have submitted a request for provision of pension under the Swatantra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme 1980 (“Scheme”) to the district collector of Aurangabad with the documented evidence needed. According to the petitioner, her husband had learned for the first time in January 2014 that on May 12, 1999, his pension claim was dismissed under the scheme. 

The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court observed that “...the petitioner herein has no locus standi to lay a claim to pension under the Scheme once her deceased husband’s claim to the same was rejected by the concerned Authority.”

Also Read - Rent Act would not come to the aid of a "tenant­-in-sufferance" vis -à-­vis SARFAESI Act due to the operation of Section 13(2) r/w Section 13(13) of the SARFAESI Act: Supreme Court

The Scheme is a Central Scheme introduced in 1972 for grant of pension to the freedom fighters and their eligible dependents in case of deceased freedom fighters. Monthly pensions were seen as a sign of respect for freedom fighters’ contribution to the fight for independence. The Scheme and the Government Decree of July 4, 1995, laid down the eligibility criteria for granting pensions, according to which the petitioner was entitled to a pension being wife of a deceased freedom fighter. 

The petitioner stated that her husband had suffered many losses as a consequence of being a part of the Hyderabad Liberation Movement. Additionally, throughout the period 1947-48, he had stayed underground. The petitioner after seeking legal advice and collected all the relevant documents and submitted an application on October 9, 2020. Her pension claim was, however, rejected on November 4, 2020, in light of the government resolution dated June 2, 2016.

Also Read - The equity of redemption is a right which is subsidiary to the right of ownership: Supreme Court

It is clearly obvious that, on evidence as stipulated by the Scheme and in no other manner, pension under the Scheme may be sanctioned. Unless such evidence is available, the petitioner shall not be able to benefit from the Scheme. Moreover, the government resolution dated June 2, 2016, was also not questioned. 

“The Scheme for grant of pension to the freedom fighters is a benevolent gesture and deserves to be considered liberally, but the same cannot be construed in such a manner that the requirements prescribed for the grant thereof are rendered a dead letter.”, the bench observed.

CLICK HERE TO READ JUDGMENT.

*Pavni Dada is a 1st year student pursuing B.B.A.LL.B from Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad.