Telangana News

On one hand, the Supreme Court ordered an inquiry into alleged forging of freedom fighter certificates to claim pension and on the other hand, it restored the pensions on humanitarian grounds, after they were cancelled.

The Bench in August 2005, had appointed the Justice AB Palkar Commission to examine the case of a large number of people claiming pension as freedom fighters by allegedly forging certificates in Beed district, Maharashtra. Tagging them as "traitors", the court said that, they should be dealt sternly.

298 out of 354 people claims were rejected by the panel, terming their documents "bogus". After the state government cancelled their pensions, the elderly people moved to Bombay HC and pleaded, "We are all senior citizens. At this ripe age, if we are deprived of pensionary benefits, we will not be in a position to eke out a livelihood."

But as HC rejected their request, they had to move to SC, which then referred to 2013 judgment of the apex court which had dealt with similar pleas. It had said, "In our opinion, keeping in view the fact that at this old age, if small benefit that was already granted to them is withdrawn, it may be difficult for them to sustain themselves. In that view of the matter, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we set aside the order of the Bombay HC."

The court further clarified that, the pensions would stop after the death of the false freedom fighters. Justices Joseph and Nariman were quick to adopt the same stand.

They said, "We find force in the submissions made by the counsel for Maharashtra that in many of these cases, the appellants have actually not participated in any freedom struggle. However, taking note of the only fact that these cases arise out of the same batch of appeals, we feel that it may not be proper to take a different view (than that taken in 2013)."