JUDGMENT :

R. N. LADDHA, J.

Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally by consent of learned Counsel for the Parties.

2. By this writ petition the petitioner Smt. Rukhminbai, widow of Asaram Daulatrao Kale who died on 5 April, 2017, claims to have been entitled to be conferred with benefits of Pension which, according to her, should have lawfully accrued to her deceased husband Asaram, during his life time, under the “Swatantrata Sainik Sanman Pension Scheme, 1980” (the ‘Scheme’ for short).

3. The material averments in the petition may be summarized as under :

(a) The petitioner is the widow of Asaram Kale, who had been claiming himself to be a freedom fighter. This Asaram Kale is claimed to have made an application to the District Collector, Aurangabad on November 24, 1994 which was accompanied by the requisite documentary evidence, for grant of pension under the Scheme. The petitioner claims that her husband and upon his death, she herself is entitled to the benefit of the Scheme. According to the petitioner, her husband had actively participated in the Hyderabad Liberation Movement and as a consequence thereof had suffered various losses and hardships. Moreover, he had to re