IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.9364 of 2005 NARAYAN MANDAL Versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR ----------- For Petitioner :- Mr. Ranjan Kumar Jha For State :- Mr. S.C.1 For Union of India :- Mr. Prashant Kashyap (Central Govt. Counsel) 2 2.2.2009 Heard parties. On the own showing of the petitioner, his application for grant of pension under the Freedom Fighter Pension Scheme was sent under “Certificate of Posting as per the receipt shown as Annexure-1 to this writ application. The respondents have filed their counter affidavit and have stated that as a matter of fact, such application was received only on 6.2.1976 and therefore, as the last date for the same was only 31.3.1974, the belated application of the petitioner was rejected on 3.3.1976 under intimation to him. The respondents have further stated that the petitioner was once again informed of rejection when the State Government had not recommended the case of the petitioner on 24.2.1997 leading to passing of yet fresh order of rejection on 12.9.1997. The specific stand of the respondent Government of India in their counter affidavit, copy whereof had also been served on the counsel for the petitioner on 23.1.2009, has not been 2 controverted in any manner. That being so, this Court must hold that the original application was filed by the petitioner after prescribed date which by itself would disentitle the petitioner from claiming such pension. That apart the present writ application also suffers from the vice of unexplained delay and laches of a period of almost more than thirty years in as much as the claim of petitioner for payment of pension was rejected on 3.3.1976 and the writ petition was filed on 2.8.2005. Accordingly, this application is wholly misconceived and the same is hereby dismissed both on the ground of unexplained delay and laches as also on merits. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)