IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF OCTOBER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO:8307 of 2002 Between: K.Srisailam S/o.Narayana R/o. Hasanparthy Warangal District. ..... PETITIONER AND The Secretary to Government Revenue (F.F.Wing) Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad. .....RESPONDENT Counsel for the Petitioner:MR. K.LAKSHMANA CHARY FOR MR.K.CHANDRASEKHAR Counsel for the Respondent: AGP FOR REVENUE The Court made the following : ORDER: This writ petition is ﬁled for a writ of mandamus to declare G.O.Ms.No.714, dated 01.05.1981 and the consequential action of the respondent in stopping freedom fighters pension to the petitioner as illegal and arbitrary. Heard Sri K.Lakshmana Chary, learned counsel representing Sri K.Chandrasekhar, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Revenue. The petitioner was sanctioned freedom ﬁghters pension from the State funds vide G.O.Ms.No.883, Revenue (FF.III) Department, dated 08.08.1980 @ Rs.200/- per month with eﬀect from 06.03.1978. Thereafter, the State Government issued G.O.Ms.No.714, Revenue (FF.I) Department, dated 01.05.1981 by which the existing rules were amended. One such amendment relates to the eligibility of the freedom ﬁghters to get pension. The earlier rule was amended to the eﬀect that unless a person remained underground for not less than three (3) months, he is not entitled to freedom ﬁghters pension. When this G.O. was given retrospective operation and pensions were denied to the persons, who are situated similar to the petitioner, they ﬁled certain writ petitions, which included Writ Petition No.13588 of 1990. This Court by judgment, dated 18.09.1995 held that the amendment was only prospective in operation and the pensions already sanctioned and being paid cannot be cancelled or stopped on account of the said amendment. Following the said judgment, certain other writ petitions also came to be allowed and one such writ petition was Writ Petition No.2876 of 1992, which was allowed by this Court on 22.09.1995. By applying the said amendment, pension was stopped in the case of the petitioner. Evidently, after coming to know about the above-mentioned judgments of this Court, the petitioner filed the present writ petition. No counter-affidavit has been filed by the respondent. Since the fact that the petitioner was earlier sanctioned pension has not been denied, he was placed in an identical position as those whose writ petitions were allowed by this Court. Therefore, the ratio laid down by this Court applies, in all fours, to the petitioner’s case. The writ petition is, therefore, allowed. The respondent is directed to forthwith resume payment of freedom ﬁghters pension to the petitioner in addition to paying of arrears, within a period of three (3) months from today. C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J 15th OCTOBER, 2008. Note: copy in one week. B/o kvni