IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized the need for a rational and not a technical approach in dealing with the claims of freedom fighters under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980, and highlighted the importance of applying the principle of probability and eschewing technicalities in upholding the entitlement of the claimants.

ORDER :

1. Heard Learned Counsel Mr. D. Linga Rao appearing on behalf of the Petitioner, Mr. P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent No. 1 and Learned Central Government Counsel Mrs. Anjali Agarwal, and the Learned Assistant Government Pleader on behalf of Respondents No. 2 and 3.

2. The Petitioner approached the Court seeking prayer as under:

“To issue an appropriate Writ order or direction more particularly one in the nature of WRIT OF MANDAMUS, declaring the action of the Respondent No. 1 rejecting the case of the Petitioner vide Order No. 112/4/2008-FF(HC) dated 15.02.2012 as illegal, arbitrary and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and set aside the same and consequently direct the Respondents to sanction the SSPS, 1980 from the date of the Scheme, till the date of issuance along with interest @ 24% P.A.”

3. PERUSED THE RECORD:

(a) The relevant portion of the order impugned dated 15.02.2012 of the 1st Respondent herein Para 7 and 8 read as under:

“7. You have not produced any primary evidence and your claim is based merely on the certificate issued by Shri S. Ambadas Rao who claims to be Tamra Patra Holder and Camp Assistant Incharge, and certificates issued by Shri Partha Sarthi and Shri Anant Swamy without prescribed NARC which is pre-requisite for consideration of claim on the basis of secondary evidence like Personal Knowledge Certificate. Moreover, instructions for issue of Personal Knowledge Certificate require that such certifiers should have proven jail suffering of a minimum two years and happen to be from the same administrative unit and you have not submitted documents in support of certifiers having undergone minimum two years jail suffering. In view of this the certificates submitted by you cannot be taken as valid PKC.

8. In view of above you do not fulfil the eligibility criteria and evidentiary requirements as per the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980. Hence it is not possible to accept your claim for grant of Samman Pension and the same is rejected.”

(b) The relevant Paras 15 to 18 of the judgment dated 10.10.2011 passed in W.P. No. 4222/2009 is as follows:

“15. The fact that the petitioner has not produced record based primary evidence is of no legal significance at all. The Swatanthra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980, has clearly recognized that primary evidence may not be readily available and hence secondary evidence can be made available, in the absence of primary evidence. The statement, that the petitioner has not produced Personal Knowledge Certificate (PKC) from the eligible certifiers, by the Ministry, to say the least is a hopeless misstatement of fact. The Swatanthra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980, recognizes the Personal Knowledge Certificate (PKC) from any prominent freedom fighter who has proven jail suffering of minimum of two years and who happened to be from the same administrative district. Personal Knowledge Certificate (PKC) can be submitted as a supporting evidence to the claim. As was noticed supra, the Collector, Hyderabad District has submitted a complete data in the revised checklist with all enclosures, to his report dated 14.09.2007 and the same was forwarded by the State Government to the Ministry of Home Affairs on 22.11.2007. Sri N.B. Ananth Swamy and Sri Partha Saradhi are two prominent freedom fighters and they are the Thamarapathra. Awardees of Government of India in recognition of their incarceration of jail terms. Similarly, Sri S. Ambadass Rao is also a prominent freedom fighter and he was also a Thamarapathra Awardee. He was assistant camp-in-charge of Sholapur Camp conducted by Sri K. Lakshman Rao. It is significant to note that Sholapur District is currently forming part of Maharashtra State and it was forming part of the former State of Hyderabad. As to which District Magistrate has issued a detention order against the petitioner more than 60 or 70 years back is nearly impossible to be tra