The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of fulfilling the conditions of the Central Government Scheme and the need for proper authentication as required under the Scheme.

ORDER :

1. Leave granted.

2. The present matter relates to grant of pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980 (for short ‘SSS Pension Scheme’) introduced by the Central Government on 15.08.1981.

3. The brief facts of this case are that in response to the SSS Pension Scheme,1980, the respondent no. 1 submitted an application before the Central Government on 27.12.1982 claiming freedom fighter’s pension on the ground that he suffered eight months confinement in the freedom movement in the year 1942, in the form of being underground for such period. It is the case of the respondent no. 1 that from the period of 21.11.1942 to 20.08.1943 (during which he did not attend the school), he remained underground and hence, would be entitled for pension under the said SSS Pension Scheme. Since the application of the respondent no. 1 was not considered, he filed a writ petition before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which was disposed of by giving a direction to the appellant/Union of India herein to decide the claim of the respondent no. 1. The matter travelled to the High Court on several occasions and ultimately, on 03.02.2009, the application of the respondent was rejected by the appellant.

4. Aggrieved by the said order, the respondent no. 1 filed a writ petition before the Single Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which was allowed on 14.02.2019 and after setting aside the order dated 03.02.2009 passed by the appellant, the appellant was directed to grant pension to the respondent no. 1 along with 6% interest per annum. Challenging the said order the appellant filed an intra court appeal before the Division Bench of the High Court, which was dismissed on 17.02.2020. Aggrieved by the same, this appeal by way of special leave petition has been filed.

5. The submission of Mr. Jayant K. Sud, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the appellant, is that the respondent no. 1 was born on 05.07.1930 and was only about 12 years of age when he claims to be underground during the freedom movement of 1942. It is contended that there is no specific proof of the respondent no. 1 having remained underground during the period which is being claimed by him, except for the fact that the School certificate obtained after about 40 years indicates that the respondent no. 1 had attended school from 13.7.1942 to 20.11.1942 and from 21.08.1943 to 13.09.1947. Learned ASG has submitted that merely because the respondent no. 1 did not attend the school during the intervening period would not, by itself, mean that respondent no. 1 remained underground because of his participation in the freedom movement. He has, however, also disputed the issuance of school certificate issued by the school authorities. On merits, it has been submitted that the freedom fighters pension scheme was there in the year 1972 and the SSS Pension Scheme,1980 was nothing but amendment of the said scheme to the extent of raising eligibility to all the freedom fighters as token of ‘Samman’ to them, by deleting the provision in the earlier scheme with regard to ceiling on annual income for being eligible for getting such pension. It is, thus, contended that the application filed by the respondent no.1 was with a delay of twenty years.

6. It is further contended that for being eligible, what was required was that a person should have remained underground for more than six months, provided he was a proclaimed offender; or one on whom an award for arrest/head was announced; or one for whom detention order was issued but not served, which, according to the learned ASG, was not so in the case of the respondent no.1. He also submitted that in the absence of the respondent no. 1 having furnished the Non-availability of Record Certificate (NARC), the case of the respondent no. 1 could not have been considered merely on the basis of certificate issued by the freedom fighters who had undergone imprisonment for five years or more. Learned counsel has submitted that the