IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.5760 of 2003 SRI NAVIN KUMAR & ORS Versus THE UNION OF INDIA & ORS ----------- 5. 2.2.2009 Heard counsel for the petitioners and the counsel for the Government of India as also counsel for the State of Bihar. In this case the impugned order dated 2nd April, 2002 sets out only one reason for withdrawing the earlier sanction of pension under the Freedom Fighter Pension Scheme in favour of late Kishori Lal. Such reason is that on account of his age it was not conceivable that he would have participated in any activities related to Freedom Struggle and the same rests on recommendation of the State Government which been acted upon by the Central Government in passing the impugned order. In the turn of events, now the question only remains for payment of arrears, inasmuch as the person, Late Kishori Lal, who had applied for such pension in the year 1990, has already died in the year 1994 and his widow late Shanti Devi has died during the pendency of this writ application on 13.11.2007. 2 Admittedly there was no cut off date drawn for making the persons eligible for participating in Freedom struggle. True it is that when a person takes a plea of his being accused and taken into custody, the provisions of sections 82 and 83 Cr.P.C. will be made applicable because it may be safely said that a person under 12 years of age would not be held to be an accused in normal circumstances. However, in the present case, on the admitted facts the date of birth of late Kishori Lal was 15.1.1930 and if the records relating to his conviction are correct he was taken into custody on 9.10.1942 which would make him easily a boy above 12 years of age. That being so, the only ground taken for suspending and canceling the pension already granted to late Kishori Lal cannot be sustained in law, especially when the counsel for the Government of India has failed to produce any order that the minors as such were not entitled for grant of pension under the Freedom Fighter Pension Scheme. In that view of the matter, this Court would set aside the impugned order, as 3 contained in Annexure 12, and remit the matter back to the Government of India. The Government of India will now reconsider the issue and if necessary refer the matter back to the State Government for a fresh opinion keeping in view the object and guidelines laid down for such sanction of pension under the Freedom Fighters Pension Scheme. As indicated above, now the question only remains payment of arrears and therefore, the substituted heirs, being the sons and daughters of the freedom fighter, may not be kept awaiting for long what was due to their parents and could not be paid to them in their life time. In that view of the matter, this Court would direct the Government of India to take a decision within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. With the aforementioned observation, this application is disposed of. (Mihir Kumar Jha,J.) Surendra/