Withholding freedom fighter’s pension not justified, says HC; seeks Maha govt’s reply to 90-yr-old woman’s plea

Withholding the pension of a freedom fighter was not justified, the Bombay High Court has said and directed the Maharashtra government to respond to a plea filed by a 90-year-old wife of a freedom fighter, who died 56 years ago, seeking benefits of a government pension scheme.

A division bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar issued the order on September 24 and a copy of it was made available on Monday.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Shalini Chavan, a resident of Raigad district, seeking benefits of the ‘Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980’ to be accorded to her as her late husband was a freedom fighter.

As per the plea, the woman’s husband, Laxman Chavan, was a freedom fighter and had participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942