Consider legal heirs for freedom fighters’ pension: HC to Centre

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the Union Home Ministry to consider inclusion of all legal heirs, including sons, in the list of dependents of freedom fighters for entitling them to receive the “Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension” payable to freedom fighters.

The directions by Justice Nirmaljit Kaur came during the resumed hearing of a contempt petition filed against the Union Home Ministry’s freedom fighters cell director by historian Malwinder Jit Singh Waraich through counsel HC Arora.

The direction was issued after the Bench expressed its dissatisfaction with the Union Home Ministry’s response. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur directed it to reconsider its decision in accordance with the letter and spirit of directions issued by a Division Bench of the High Court on a PIL in April, 2012. The judgment had mandated the Union of India to modify the pension scheme to include all legal heirs, including sons, in the list of dependents of freedom fighters, for the grant of the “Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension”.

Respondent Union of India had earlier informed the petitioner that “there is hardly any scope for expansion or liberalisation of the clause of eligible dependents for grant of family pension”. The Union Home Ministry involved some eminent freedom fighters after Waraich filed the contempt petition. A committee of eminent freedom fighters then passed a resolution that the scheme did not require modification to include all legal heirs in the list of dependents. Arora contended that passing such a resolution amounted to commission of contempt of the High Court orders in the PIL.