The Madras High Court Bench here has quashed an order passed by Madurai Collector on January 12 rejecting the plea of a 95-year-old to grant freedom fighters pension to him and directed the official to serve the order approving grant of pension at the doorsteps of the nonagenarian besides sending a copy of it through any other mode.
Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu passed the order while allowing a writ petition filed by A. Duraisamy Thevar challenging the Collector’s refusal to grant freedom fighters pension to him solely on the basis of certificates issued by two renowned freedom fighters I. Mayandi Bharathi and A.M. Lakshmanan to prove his participation in the Quit India Movement.
The two freedom fighters had certified that the petitioner was declared as a proclaimed offender and he remained absconding between December 15, 1942 and June 14, 1943.
However, the Collector had insisted that the petitioner should have produced a certificate from freedom fighter A.C. Periyasamy and not from Mr. Bharathi.
Disagreeing with such insistence, the judge said: “I do not think that the second respondent (Collector) is justified in rejecting the claim of the petitioner for the reason that he has not obtained the certificate from a particular freedom fighter... Needless to say that while considering the claim of persons like the petitioner, technicalities should not stand in the way.”
Reason wrong
On the other reason cited by the Collector for rejecting the petitioner’s plea, the judge said that the official was wrong in holding that the petitioner would not have completed 18 years of age at the time of his participation in the freedom movement since he was 75 years old as per a Voter’s Identity Card issued to him on January 1, 1995.
“Even assuming that the petitioner had not completed 18 years of age at the relevant point of time, that can never be a disqualification rather it has to be considered as a great sacrifice by a young boy by taking part in the freedom struggle,” the judge concluded.