Government slammed for rejecting pension to freedom fighter

Justice M S Ramesh on slamming the government for refusing pension to a person citing technicalities, said, “When the scheme is floated with a noble object, it is rather unfortunate that the authorities had been taking such baseless reasoning for rejecting the petitioner’s request.”

“When the impugned order does not deny the petitioner’s claim of having been imprisoned at Vellore prison, it can only be concluded that the authorities herein have accepted the fact that the petitioner had participated in the freedom struggle and was imprisoned at Vellore prison,” the judge added.

As per the case, K Balakrishnan had actively participated in the freedom movement, during which time he was imprisoned at Vellore jail from 5 November, 1942 and 5 July, 1943 for partaking in the Quit India Movement. Thereafter, he remained underground for more than six months.

The state had granted freedom fighters pension in 2004. However, after the Union Home Ministry introduced the SSS scheme with effect from 1980, he had applied for the same in 2012 as he had undergone imprisonment for more than six months. But since he was required to obtain certificates from co-prisoners, he had obtained them from veteran freedom fighters Mayandi Bharathi and AC Periyasamy.

But his plea was rejected on the basis that the co-prisoners certificate of Mayandi Baharathi and Periyasamy were not acceptable since they had been imprisoned at a jail in Bellari district and Tanjore jail, while the petitioner was imprisoned at Vellore Jail and not along with the other two freedom fighters.