Hitting out at the Centre for exhibiting a pedantic approach in considering the claim of a 100-year-old for freedom fighter for pension, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday observed that though the man was able to achieve his goal in his 40’s against the British, his fight against the Indian government in getting the pension failed even in his 90’s.
A Division Bench of Justices K. Ravichandrabaabu and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed that the man, who fought for the freedom of this country and was imprisoned during the British rule, ultimately succeeded in seeing a free India. However, unfortunately, he was made to suffer at the hands of bureaucrats just to get a meagre sum as pension.
The court was hearing the appeal preferred by the Centre against a single bench order directing the grant of freedom fighter’s pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme 1980 to M. Kaliyan from Sivaganga district, who had participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942. He was sentenced for one year and lodged at Madurai Central Prison.
After verification of records, the State government granted the pension to Mr. Kaliyan. However, the Centre claimed that the 100-year-old man only produced secondary evidence, co-prisoner’s certificate, and not primary evidence, jail certificate. Also, the co-prisoner’s certificate was not in the required format, it said.
The court observed that after a legal battle, the State had recognised him as a freedom fighter and was extending the pension under the State scheme. However, the Centre was not willing to recognise him as a freedom fighter, by citing flimsy reasons and exhibiting a pedantic approach. The freedom fighter might not have thought that his sacrifice would be doubted, the court said.
A co-prisoner’s certificate once accepted by the State on scrutiny should not be doubted or tested again by the Centre, the court said.
The court took cognisance of the fact that the freedom fighter had approached the High Court twice already and filed a fresh application in 2014 for grant of pension. It directed the authorities concerned to grant the pension from 2014 and comply with the order within four weeks. The court dismissed the appeal preferred by the Centre.
