Point of Law: The certificate allegedly issued by Kumar Chandra Jana is extremely cryptic and sketchy. It is devoid of required information. Impugned order mentions that period of jail suffering is not disclosed in certificate. It is an admitted fact that period of jail suffering is not disclosed in said certificate.

JUDGMENT :

Prakash Shrivastava, J:

1. This appeal is directed against the order of the learned Single Judge dated 17.09.2019 whereby WP No. 29675 (W) of 2017 has been dismissed.

2. The original petitioner had approached the writ Court challenging the order dated 15.05.2017 rejecting the claim of the petitioner for pension under the Freedom Fighters’ Pension Scheme, 1972. A further direction was sought to extend the benefit of pension. During the pendency of the writ petition the original petitioner had died, therefore, his legal representatives were brought on record, who being aggrieved with the rejection of the writ petition, have filed this appeal.

3. The submission of the learned Counsel for the appellants is that the learned Single Judge has committed an error in rejecting the writ petition without considering the fact that the original writ petitioner was eligible under the pension scheme and the certificates of co-prisoners as required in terms of the scheme were submitted and the case of the petitioner was also forwarded by the State to the competent authority in the Central Government, hence the order of rejection ought to have been set aside.

4. Learned Counsel for the respondents opposing the prayer had submitted that the petitioner did not fulfill the eligibility conditions prescribed under the scheme and no proof was submitted by the petitioner or the appellants showing that the petitioner was a freedom fighter who had remained in jail before Independence for the prescribed period of six months. He has submitted that the Superintendent also in the report dated 14.05.2013 had conveyed to the Assistant Secretary, Home Department, Government of West Bengal that name of the petitioner did not figure in the concerned record and that the learned Single Judge committed no error in rejecting the petition

5. Having heard the learned Counsel for the parties and on the perusal of the record it is noticed that initially the provisional order for grant of pension in favour of the writ petitioner was issued but on receiving certain complaints the same was cancelled. In pursuance to the direction of this Court the order dated 09.02.2017 in WP 14216 (W) of 2016, the case of the petitioner was examined in the light of the provisions contained in the Freedom Fighters’ Pension Scheme, 1972. The competent authority has duly examined the affidavits of the co-prisoners Shri Chittaranjan Jana, Shri Amiya Ranjan Karan and also the certificates of the co-prisoner Shri Kumar Chandra Jana, ex-MLA and ex-President, Midnapur District Congress Committee and has found that these certificates do not fulfill the requisite conditions, hence the application for grant of pension has been rejected on the ground that the petitioner did not meet the eligibility criteria under the scheme.

6. The Freedom Fighters’ Pension Scheme, 1972 provides the following eligibility criteria:

“ELIGIBILITY: For the purposes of this scheme, a Freedom Fighter is:

(a) A person who has suffered a minimum imprisonment of six months in the mainland jails before Independence. However, ex-INA or ex-Military personnel will be eligible for pension if the imprisonment/detention suffered by them was outside India.

EXPLANATION: 1. Detention under the orders of the competent authority will be considered as imprisonment.

2. Period of normal remission will be treated as part of actual imprisonment.

3. In the case of a trial ending in conviction, undertrial period will be counted towards actual imprisonment suffered.

4. Broken periods of imprisonment will be totalled up and counted as one.”

7. In respect of the imprisonment/detention etc. following documents were required to be furnished:

“The applicant should furnish documents indicated below with the application:-

(a) Imprisonment/detention etc. Certificates from the concerned jail authorities, District Magistrates or the State Governments. In case of non-availability of such certificates, co-prisoner certificate from a sitting M.P. or M.L.A. or