HC orders Centre to pay pension to 85-year-old freedom fighter

The Madurai Bench of the court was disposing of a petition by R S Mupidathi of Tirunelveli, who went underground between August 1942 and September 1943 as police were searching for him for participating in the freedom struggle.

He submitted that the government directed him to produce arrest warrant or documents of court proceedings for consideration of pension.But the documents had been destroyed, he said.

Though he produced personal knowledge certificates from several fellow freedom fighters, including former Maharashtra governor C Subramanian, the government had rejected his application.

Justice M Jeyapaul pointed out that one of the certificates issued by fellow freedom fighter Mayandi Bharathi clearly stated that police attempted to arrest Mupidathi.Besides, the district collector had certified that the records relating to 1942 had been 'destroyed'.

The Centre should also consider the fact that the Tamil Nadu government had made some relaxations and granted the state government's freedom fighter pension to the petitioner, the Judge said.

In the absence of documentary evidence the Central government should have given importance to the certificate issued by other freedom fighters, the judge said