IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.14639 of 2006 NUNUMATI DEVI Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS ----------- 2 19.2.2009 Heard counsel for petitioner and counsel for the State. The petitioner seems to be under some misconceived notion that the family pension becomes automatically payable to a lady claiming to be the widow of freedom fighter. As a matter of fact, the scheme of the year 1972 or 1981 requires the Freedom fighter to not only give details of his sufferings on account of which he could be declared as a freedom fighter but also give the declaration about his wife and dependant. It is also on the basis of such enquiry that the order of pension could be issued initially to the freedom fighter and thereafter family pension to the widow. There is however no document annexed with this writ application which would show that either the alleged husband of the petitioner had nominated the petitioner as his wife making her entitled for payment of family pension or that the Government of India had ever sanctioned family pension in the name of the petitioner. The reliance placed by the counsel for the petitioner on a letter/communication of the Establishment Deputy Collector of Bhagalpur district Collectorate showing sanction of pension by the office of the Collectorate is neither here nor there. In any event, the matter seems to have gone into and now the respondent no.2 has taken a stand before this Court that the petitioner, as a matter of fact, is not the wife of freedom fighter late Bhuneshwar Tiwari. A dispute 2 of this nature as to whether the petitioner is a wife of late Bhuneshwar Tiwari and further as to whether she would also become entitled for payment of family pension under Freedom Fighter Pension Scheme cannot be adjudicated by this Court in a writ application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner, if so advised, may file a suit and get declaration with regard to she being the legally married wife of late Bhuneshwar Tiwari. Such suit, however, as it would mean only for the purpose of grant of family pension, must be filed with impleadment of Union of India and State of Bihar as defendants so that the judgment and decree passed in the suit may become binding on them. With the aforementioned observations, this application is disposed of. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)