The Maharashtra government had refused to grant the pension of a deceased freedom fighter to his widow for want of a jail certificate. The Bombay High Court (HC) has now asked the secretary of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to help the widow find documents that prove her husband was a freedom fighter.
The woman had been pursuing her case since 1993, and she claimed that her husband had died in 1965. She said that her husband was jailed for six months in 1944 for participating in the Quit India Movement 1942.
The court comprising of the division bench of justice Ujjal Bhuyan and justice Madhav Jamdar while hearing the petition, said that the start government should start paying pension to the 90-year-old widow as an interim arrangement from October 2021.
While upholding the pension scheme for freedom fighters, the court further said that the government should find freedom fighters and their dependents. They should approach them with pension rather than requiring them to make applications.
The Freedom Fighters Pension Scheme was implemented by the state government in 1980. The freedom fighters had to submit an original imprisonment certificate to obtain the pension. The court will now hear the plea posted on January 6, 2022.
Also read: Govt-Appointed Committee For Shirdi Sansthan Can Take Charge On Oct 19, Says Bombay HC
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