Freedom fighter pension: Govt told to pay up

Reminding Government and the bureaucrats of the 8216;8216;sacrifice8217;8217; of freedom fighters who had 8216;8216;given their all for the country about fifty years ago,8217;8217; the Delhi High Court yesterday said that it 8216;8216;noted with disgust8217;8217; the 8216;8216;hyper-technical8217;8217; approach of the authorities while dealing with the pension of a freedom fighter.

Birvati Devi, wife of deceased freedom fighter Dharmendra Sidhant Shastri, had been denied pension under the Freedom Fighters pension scheme for being unable to produce the jail records dating back to 1934.

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul yesterday directed the Union Government to grant pension to the petitioner with full arrears within two months. Apart from this, the court also imposed costs of Rs 3,000 on the authorities.

The court said there8217;s proof that Shastri had been sentenced to six months imprisonment on March 10, 1934.