Judgment :-

R.V. RAVEENDRAN, J.

Leave granted.

2. Choudhuri Nayak, first respondent in these appeals (who died during the pendency of the special leave petitions leaving his widow as his legal representative) filed an application on 18.9.1978 claiming pension under the Freedom Fighters Pension Scheme, 1972 (`scheme' for short). In his application, he claimed that he was convicted by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Bhadrak, under Rule 38(5) of the Defence of India Rules (`DIR' for short) and sentenced to seven months' simple imprisonment. He further stated that in pursuance of such conviction and sentence, he was taken into custody and suffered imprisonment from 19.3.1943 to 10.10.1943 in Balasore jail. The said application for freedom fighter's pension was accompanied by a typed unsigned copy of a certificate dated 12.3.1974 said to have been issued by the Superintendent, Balasore District Jail, certifying that the first respondent was convicted and sentenced to seven months simple imprisonment by Sri. P.C.Mohanty, Sub-Divisional Officer, Bhadrak under Rule 38(5) of DIR on 10.3.1943 and he was confined in the said jail from 19.3.1943 till 10.10.1943. Therefore first respondent was asked to produce some acceptable proof of imprisonment. In the year 1982, he produced a certified copy of the Entries made on 12.10.1943 in the criminal case register (Sl.No. 278 of Challan Register) being brief summary of the case decided by Sri. P.C. Mohanty, SDO in case No. G.327of 1942. The said certified copy was obtained by the first respondent from the Record Section of SDO's office on 30.12.1981. The said certified copy showed that Sri

P.C. Mohanty, SDO, Bhadrak had made a final order in case titled Emperor v. Salar and 32 Others, in regard to offences punishable under sections 147, 35 to 38 IPC and Rule 38(5) of DIR. The name `Choudhari' also figured in the names of accused who were convicted and sentenced in that case.

3. The State Government accepted the said certified extract of Challan Register as proof of first respondent having undergone imprisonment for more than six months and processed his application and recommended his case for pension. The first respondent was sanctioned Freedom Fighters Pension with effect from 1.8.1980 by the Central Government and with effect from 1.1.1984 by the State Government. The first respondent was being paid pension in terms of the scheme ever since then.

4. A public interest litigation (OJC No. 15977/1997) was filed by one S.Sanyasi Charan Das before the Orissa High Court alleging that the first respondent was drawing freedom fighter's pension by producing false and fabricated documents and that an inspection of the Challan Register in the office of SDO, Bhadrak would show that the name of the first respondent had been fraudulently inserted among the names of accused who were convicted and sentenced in the criminal case (with respect to which the first respondent had produced the certified copy). It was also stated that the first respondent was hardly fourteen years old in 1943 and he had concealed his date of birth (13.9.1928) while applying for and securing the pension and had falsely shown his age as 56 years in his application dated 18.9.1978 (which would make him 21 years old in 1943). In view of these allegations, the State Government conducted an inquiry through the Superintendent of Police, Bhadrak. The said inquiry disclosed that in the Entries in the Challan Register (at Sl.No. 278), the name of first respondent and another ("Choudhari" and "Banabehari") had been inserted among the names of persons convicted and sentenced, shown under the column "final order passed with details of sentence and date of decision" and that such insertion was clearly visible even on a casual inspection as the two names were in a different handwriting and different ink and impression. The enquiries also revealed that the date of birth of first respondent was shown as 23.9.1926 in the school records and was recorded as