IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No.5723 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision:10.05.2010 Anok Singh son of Shri Jagat Singh, VPO Nanhera, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala, Punjab. ….Petitioner versus Secretary Incharge Freedom Fighter Branch Mini Secretariat Punjab, Floor 3, Sector 9, Chandigarh and another. …Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ------ Present: Mr. Anok Singh, petitioner-in-person. Mr. Anil Kumar Sharma, Additional Advocate General, Punjab and Mr. Dipinder Singh, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala. Ms. Kulwant Kaur Kehlon, Advocate, for Union of India. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes. 2. To be referred to the reporters or not? Yes. 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest?Yes. ----- K.Kannan, J (Oral) 1. The writ petition seeks for a direction to the respondents to issue to the petitioner the freedom fighters' pension on the basis of original relevant documents submitted by the petitioner before the Punjab Government. It appears that, in this case, the petitioner did not have the jail records and he had, therefore, appended along with the application two affidavits of persons, who claimed themselves to be co- prisoners with the petitioner at the Central Jail, Lahore between 20.08.1942 to 15.08.1943 for his participation in the Quit India Movement. The State Government had conducted an enquiry and had Civil Writ Petition No.5723 of 2009 (O&M) - 2 - given a report to the Centre recommending his pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension scheme. The Centre, however, rejected his claim on the ground that the certificates given by the two persons were not reliable. It was stated that as regards the certificate given by Bahal Singh he was in the habit of issuing certificates indiscriminately. As regards the certificates used by Shri Faqir Singh, it was stated that he was not an eligible certifier and his own jail sufferings were supported by CPCs and his other certifiers were not found genuine. Subsequent to the rejection of the claim by the Union, it appears that the State pension to the petitioner has also been withdrawn. 2. In this case, the matter would require further enquiry by the State before it forwards the recommendation to the petitioner again. The Deputy Commissioner Shri Dipinder Singh is present in Court at my request and I have informed him that he shall conduct a discreet enquiry of persons who are ought to have known if the petitioner had suffered imprisonment during the relevant period. If the two persons, who had issued certificates were not competent or their own evidence is not trustworthy, he shall elicit if there are any freedom fighters in or around the village who would be competent. If there are no such persons, the Deputy Commissioner shall conduct the discreet enquiry in the village to ascertain the status of the petitioner as a freedom fighter and as a person, who had suffered imprisonment during the period mentioned in the application of the petitioner. We have come distant by at least two generations from the time we obtained freedom. The persons, who had suffered incarceration for the freedom of a country and who are still alive Civil Writ Petition No.5723 of 2009 (O&M) - 3 - today could only be a handful and there must be a certain realism in the approach of authorities in considering the claims of persons who have undergone sufferings and who claim the pension under the scheme. If a particular person who applies for pension claims that there are no jail records, the first effort by the authorities shall be to find out whether the jail records could be accessed through official sources. If it is not possible, then the persons, who have given certificates claiming themselves to be co-prisoners, shall be examined in person to the extent possible. If such persons are also not available, the official shall conduct a discreet enquiry from the residents of the village and the neighbours to gather information whether the person had really suffered imprisonment during the freedom movement and the people in the village believe such a version. Such a direct evidence of imprisonment may not always be possible, but if hearsay alone is available that cannot be discarded. The quality of such versions must be tested by the character of persons and the esteem that such persons have in the village from the villagers. Any previous State recognition of the person as a freedom fighter would also be relevant. A proper verification by the State Officials is an absolute imperative, for only on such recommendation the Union shall be able to give effect to the lofty ideals of the claims under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Scheme. The Union is bound to act on the recommendation of the scheme, under the special facts and circumstances when there exists genuine problem of finding persons who could testify through affidavits the arrest details of the petitioner in the freedom movement. Civil Writ Petition No.5723 of 2009 (O&M) - 4 - 3. The writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the 1st respondent who in turn shall direct the Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, to undertake enquiry in the manner detailed above and forward appropriate recommendations if the petitioner's case merits acceptance. The whole exercise shall be completed within a period of 8 weeks from the date of the receipt of the copy of this order. 4. The writ petition is ordered on the above terms. There shall be however no directions as to costs. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 10.05.2010 sanjeev