Bureaucratic quibbling held up a freedom fighter’s pension for more than three decades

A day before the 69th Republic Day, the Madras High Court has apologised to Mr. Gandhi.

The court apologised to Mr. V. Gandhi, an 89-year-old freedom fighter, for the bureaucratic delay in granting him a pension though he had made a request in 1980.

Disposing of a writ petition filed by Mr. Gandhi, Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu said: “I can only say to the writ petitioner (V. Gandhi), Sorry Sir, you are made to suffer at the hands of our people too [besides the British] as, unfortunately, this is how the bureaucratic dogmatism with a wooden approach works in this country for which you fought to get freedom.”

Censuring the State officials for denying a freedom fighter’s pension just because of a discrepancy in his age in the ration card and voter’s identity card, the judge said hyper technical objections could not be raised when his bonafides had been certified by none other than Captain Lakshmi Sahgal of the INA.

Also Read Madras HC apologises to Mr. Gandhi

In a Personal Knowledge Certificate issued on April 15, 1994, Ms. Sahgal had said Mr. Gandhi was “a genuine Indian National Army freedom fighter who joined the Indian Independence League (IIL) in 1943 at Rangoon, Burma. He was attached to Thenganjun Branch of the IIL in the propaganda department under the charimanship of C.S. Naidu and played a very significant role.”

Wondering what more the officials require than such a certificate, the judge directed the Secretary, Public (Political Pension-III) Department, to ensure that an order granting pension was passed within two weeks and served at his home. Justice Ravichandrabaabu also said arrears of pension from 1980 be calculated and disbursed within four weeks.

It was only when The Hindu visited his residence following the orders that Mr. Gandhi — living with his extended family in penurious conditions in Vyasarpadi — heard of court’s decision. The doughty petitioner was overwhelmed to hear that his struggle for a pension had finally come to an end.