[ 348s ] IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE NINETEENTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SUDDALA CHALAPATHI RAO WRIT PETITION NO: 27217 OF 2026 Between: Cheruku Ahalya Devi, W/o Late Cheruku Aga Reddy Aged about 95 years Occ Housewife Rl/o HNo 6-25 (Old HNo 4-13) Nimmanapally Village Peddapalli Mandal DistrictTelangana - 505174 ...PETITIONER AND 1. The Union of lndia, Rep by principal Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs North Block Central Secretariat New Delhi - 1 ',l000'1 2. The Under Secretary to the Government of lndia, Ministry of Home Affairs Freedom Fighters Division / Swatantrata Sainik Samman Prabhag (Hyderabad Cell - Pension) 2nd Floor NDCC-Il Building Jai Singh Road New Delhi - 1'10001 3. The State of Telangana, Rep by its Principal Secretary Revenue / General Administration Department Telangana Secretariat BRKR Bhavan Hyderabad Telangana - 500063 4. The District Collector, peddapalli District Telanga na _ SOi172 peddapaili 5. The Tahsildar / Mandar Revenue officer, peddapaili Mandar District Telanga na - 505174 6' union Bank of rndia, Rep by its chief Manager centrarized pension Processing Centre (CppC) 2nO Floor S_24 Shri -Aurobindo frfrrg glo.k-A Green Park Extension New Delhi _ 1 1 0016 7. Union Bank of lndia, Rep by its Branch Manager peddapalli Branch Peddapalli District Telanga na _ 5OS1l4 ...RESPONDENTS

Petition under Arlicre ?26 0f the constitution rndia praying of that in thecircumstances stated in the.affidavit fired Higl-r irre th;;;;iil, coiirt'rr'v pr"r*o l" issueto a writ order or direction particutriti ,ore one in the nature of writ of Certiorari to call for the records relating to Letter No 11216968197-FF(HC) dated 14.07 .2025 and Letter No 112/6968/97-FF(HC) dated 1 1 .06.2026 passed by Respondent No 2 and quash the same as illegal arbitrary u nconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of lndia and consequently to declare the action of Respondent No 2 in rejecting the application for dependent family pension vide Letter No 112/6968/97-FF(HC) dated 14.07.2025 and Letter No 112/6968197-FF(HC) dated 1110612026 as illegal arbitrary and to direct Respondent Nos 1 and 2 to sanction and disburse dependent family pension to the Petitioner under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) under PPO No MHAFF050866B along with accrued arrears from 19-02-2022. l.A. NO: 1OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to direct Respondent Nos. '1 and 2 to sanction and disburse dependent family pension to the Petitioner under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) under PPO No MHAFF0508668 along with accrued arrears from 19-02-2022 pending disposal of the above Writ Petition.

Counsel for the Petitioner: MR. SRINIVAS VELAGAPUDI Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2i MR. KATA ARVIND KUMAR, S.C. FOR CENTRAL GOVT Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 3 to 7: - - - -The Court made the following: ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAI) THE HON'BLE SRI WSTICE SUDDALA CHALAPATHI RAO WRIT PETITION No.272 L7 of2o26 DATE': L9.O8.2O26 Between: Cheruku AhalYa Devi ...Petitioner AND The Union of India, Rep. by PrinciPal SecretarY, Ministry of Home Affairs. North Block, Central Secretariat, 1 1000 1 and othersNew Delhi - ...Respondents ORDER: Heard Mr.srinivas Velagapudi, learned counsel for petitioner and Mr.Kata Arvind Kumar, learned Standing for respondent counsel for central Government appearing Nos. 1 and 2. 2 The present Writ Petition has been filed seeking the following relief :-

orciet or direction nore particularlg '. . .to issue cr tt'it, certiorari to call for the nature oJ' u rit oi o"."- ii the relating to LetLer Na.1 12i 6968/ 97-FF(HC) dated iliora, 14.O7.2()25 end Letter No.1121695E,i97 FF(HC) dated 11.06.2025 possed by respondent No.2, and quash the in same as iltegal, arbitrary, unco,tstitutional and urolation cf Arti<:les 14 anci 2 1 of the Constitution of tndia ctnd r:on sequentlg to declare tLv actiort of respondent rVo. i in rejecting the application fo, r.leperLdenl famil1l pension uide Letter llo.1 12/ 6968/ 97-FF(HC) clated i1.07,2025 ond Letter No.112/6968/97-FF(HC) dated I LO6.2026 as illegal, arbitrarg and to cLirect r<:sponcleni Ncs.I ancl 2 t() sanL-lion and disbttrse dependent pension to tlte petitioner under the familg ,\tuatantrata Sainik Samman Yojcuta (I;SS Y7 under PPO .No.MHAFF0508668 along tuith accrued arrears from 19.02.2022 and pass such other order or orders as lhis the Hon'ble C outl tnoa deems Ji.t an.d proper in <:ttcuntstctn ce,s o/'Ihe .ase... " /) The grievancc of the petitioner is that her husband, late Sri Cherukr-r Aga ReCclv, \\'as a v.:rified freedom fighter and rvas gran ted 'rerl sion bv re spor^rclei-rt No. 1 under PPO No.MHAFF050855tt and he died cn 18.02.2022. The petitioller. being hrs lr.'qalh' rveddi:d r,.'ife, is entitled to depenclent lamilv orrrsirrn Lrnder ttr<: Srvatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana {SSSY), submitted an application for deperrclent family pcnsion on 07.01.2025. However, the said applir:ation u,as rqr'ctetl bl'respcindeirt Ntl.2 on the ground that the "<:laim of those spouse and unmarried and, unernplolecl daughtr:rs for dependent pension will be J

considered only if it is applied within three years of death of the original freedom hghter". Learned Standing Counsel for the Centra-l Government+ submits that under Paragraph a(ii) of the Revised Policy Guidelines for Disbursement of Centra'l Sarnman Pension' the application is required to be submitted within three years from the date of death, the application was filed three years and ten days after the death of the freedom fighter, and thus, there is a delay of about ten days beyond the prescribed period under the Scheme. learnecl counsel for the petitioner submitsb. In reply, that the respondents have erroneously calculated the period of three years. It is contended that the petitioner's forhusband died on 18.02.2022 and the application dependent family pension was submitted on O7'O|'2O25, which is admittedly within three years from the date of death 5. Having considered the rival submissions and upon perusal of the material placed on record, it is evident from -+ by thethe communii::ttion datcd 19.08.2025 addtessed Si:nior Manager, Cct-rtralised Pension Processing Centre, originalNelr' Delhi to respondent No.2 that as the application subrnitted bv the petitioner on o7-Ol-2025 was provide t1-r e petitioner \\'as requested tonot c:omplete .

complete applicalion again rvith proper attestation and verification Pursuant to the same, the petitioner submitted O1 03 2025 and thus theanother application dated petitioner macle tlrc clependerlt famiiv pension application r,l,ithin threc vears lrrlrn the date of dcath of her husband on 1.8.O2.2022. Thcreiore, [hc reasotl assigned by respondent No.2 ior rej cct ing the petitioncr's claim on the ground of c1etrr:y of ten dan's is filctuallv unsustairtable 1. In that vielv oi the matter, the impugned Letter be }ir,.112/6968/97 FF(IIC) ciated 14.O7.2A25, cannot sustained. allott'e d and the 8 Accorclinglr'. the' Writ Petition is ii;-.grirgncd L,,'ttcr No 112/6968197-FF(LIC.) dated i4.O'I . )O23 rs iict asirle, clirec:ting respondent No.2 to 5 reconsider the petitioner's applications dated OT.OL.2O2S and 01.03.2025 for dependent family pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana, in accordance with the applicable scheme basing on the documents furnished by the petitioner. If the petitioner is found eligible and has complied with all the requirements under the Scheme, the respondents shall sanction and disburse the dependent family pension to her in accordance with law. The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of four (04) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. There shall be no order as to costs. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in these Writ Petitions shall stand closed SD/- K.V.O. Narsi Babu ASSIS NT REGIST //TRUE COPY//

ECTION OFFICER To, '1 Central . The principal Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs North Block Secretariat Union of lndia, New Delhi - 110001 2. The Under Secretary to the Government of lndia, Ministry of Home Affairs Freedom Fighters Division / Swatantrata Sainik Samman Prabhag (Hyderabad Cell - Pension) 2nd Floor NDCC-Il Building Jai Singh Road New Delhi - 1 10001 3. The Principal Secretary Revenue / General Administration Department Telangana Secretariat BRKR Bhavan Hyderabad State of Telangana, Telangana - 500063 4. The District Collector, Peddapalli District Telangana - 5O5172 5. The Tahsildar / Mandal Revenue Officer, Peddapalli Mandal Peddapalli District Telangana - 505174 t Processing Pension Park 6 The Chief lvlanager, Union Bank of lndia''n'-luinooCentralized Green M"g Block-A Sli+ si'i centre (CPPC) 2nd Floor 1 10016 ixtension New Delhi - peddapa,i Branch peddapari of rndia, 7 The Branch Manager Union Bank District Telangana - 5051 74 8 ONE CC tO IVIR, SRINIVAS VELAGAPUDI AdVOCAIE [OPUCI IOPUCI C FOR CENTRAL GOW 9 One CC to lr,4R KATA ARVIND KUMAR' S 10 Two CD CoPies AGK \-v TJ CC TODAY HIGH COURT DATED: 1910812026 /e I \{E STATEORDER 6) rut 2$2t .DWP.No.27217 o12026 tr i * t DtsPgl ALLOWING THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS 6+ V \ Yka,r /.\l\"

[ 348s ] IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE NINETEENTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SUDDALA CHALAPATHI RAO WRIT PETITION NO: 27217 OF 2026 Between: Cheruku Ahalya Devi, W/o Late Cheruku Aga Reddy Aged about 95 years Occ Housewife Rl/o HNo 6-25 (Old HNo 4-13) Nimmanapally Village Peddapalli Mandal DistrictTelangana - 505174 ...PETITIONER AND 1. The Union of lndia, Rep by principal Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs North Block Central Secretariat New Delhi - 1 ',l000'1 2. The Under Secretary to the Government of lndia, Ministry of Home Affairs Freedom Fighters Division / Swatantrata Sainik Samman Prabhag (Hyderabad Cell - Pension) 2nd Floor NDCC-Il Building Jai Singh Road New Delhi - 1'10001 3. The State of Telangana, Rep by its Principal Secretary Revenue / General Administration Department Telangana Secretariat BRKR Bhavan Hyderabad Telangana - 500063 4. The District Collector, peddapalli District Telanga na _ SOi172 peddapaili 5. The Tahsildar / Mandar Revenue officer, peddapaili Mandar District Telanga na - 505174 6' union Bank of rndia, Rep by its chief Manager centrarized pension Processing Centre (CppC) 2nO Floor S_24 Shri -Aurobindo frfrrg glo.k-A Green Park Extension New Delhi _ 1 1 0016 7. Union Bank of lndia, Rep by its Branch Manager peddapalli Branch Peddapalli District Telanga na _ 5OS1l4 ...RESPONDENTS

Petition under Arlicre ?26 0f the constitution rndia praying of that in thecircumstances stated in the.affidavit fired Higl-r irre th;;;;iil, coiirt'rr'v pr"r*o l" issueto a writ order or direction particutriti ,ore one in the nature of writ of Certiorari to call for the records relating to Letter No 11216968197-FF(HC) dated 14.07 .2025 and Letter No 112/6968/97-FF(HC) dated 1 1 .06.2026 passed by Respondent No 2 and quash the same as illegal arbitrary u nconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of lndia and consequently to declare the action of Respondent No 2 in rejecting the application for dependent family pension vide Letter No 112/6968/97-FF(HC) dated 14.07.2025 and Letter No 112/6968197-FF(HC) dated 1110612026 as illegal arbitrary and to direct Respondent Nos 1 and 2 to sanction and disburse dependent family pension to the Petitioner under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) under PPO No MHAFF050866B along with accrued arrears from 19-02-2022. l.A. NO: 1OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to direct Respondent Nos. '1 and 2 to sanction and disburse dependent family pension to the Petitioner under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) under PPO No MHAFF0508668 along with accrued arrears from 19-02-2022 pending disposal of the above Writ Petition.

Counsel for the Petitioner: MR. SRINIVAS VELAGAPUDI Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2i MR. KATA ARVIND KUMAR, S.C. FOR CENTRAL GOVT Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 3 to 7: - - - -The Court made the following: ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAI) THE HON'BLE SRI WSTICE SUDDALA CHALAPATHI RAO WRIT PETITION No.272 L7 of2o26 DATE': L9.O8.2O26 Between: Cheruku AhalYa Devi ...Petitioner AND The Union of India, Rep. by PrinciPal SecretarY, Ministry of Home Affairs. North Block, Central Secretariat, 1 1000 1 and othersNew Delhi - ...Respondents ORDER: Heard Mr.srinivas Velagapudi, learned counsel for petitioner and Mr.Kata Arvind Kumar, learned Standing for respondent counsel for central Government appearing Nos. 1 and 2. 2 The present Writ Petition has been filed seeking the following relief :-

orciet or direction nore particularlg '. . .to issue cr tt'it, certiorari to call for the nature oJ' u rit oi o"."- ii the relating to LetLer Na.1 12i 6968/ 97-FF(HC) dated iliora, 14.O7.2()25 end Letter No.1121695E,i97 FF(HC) dated 11.06.2025 possed by respondent No.2, and quash the in same as iltegal, arbitrary, unco,tstitutional and urolation cf Arti<:les 14 anci 2 1 of the Constitution of tndia ctnd r:on sequentlg to declare tLv actiort of respondent rVo. i in rejecting the application fo, r.leperLdenl famil1l pension uide Letter llo.1 12/ 6968/ 97-FF(HC) clated i1.07,2025 ond Letter No.112/6968/97-FF(HC) dated I LO6.2026 as illegal, arbitrarg and to cLirect r<:sponcleni Ncs.I ancl 2 t() sanL-lion and disbttrse dependent pension to tlte petitioner under the familg ,\tuatantrata Sainik Samman Yojcuta (I;SS Y7 under PPO .No.MHAFF0508668 along tuith accrued arrears from 19.02.2022 and pass such other order or orders as lhis the Hon'ble C outl tnoa deems Ji.t an.d proper in <:ttcuntstctn ce,s o/'Ihe .ase... " /) The grievancc of the petitioner is that her husband, late Sri Cherukr-r Aga ReCclv, \\'as a v.:rified freedom fighter and rvas gran ted 'rerl sion bv re spor^rclei-rt No. 1 under PPO No.MHAFF050855tt and he died cn 18.02.2022. The petitioller. being hrs lr.'qalh' rveddi:d r,.'ife, is entitled to depenclent lamilv orrrsirrn Lrnder ttr<: Srvatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana {SSSY), submitted an application for deperrclent family pcnsion on 07.01.2025. However, the said applir:ation u,as rqr'ctetl bl'respcindeirt Ntl.2 on the ground that the "<:laim of those spouse and unmarried and, unernplolecl daughtr:rs for dependent pension will be J

considered only if it is applied within three years of death of the original freedom hghter". Learned Standing Counsel for the Centra-l Government+ submits that under Paragraph a(ii) of the Revised Policy Guidelines for Disbursement of Centra'l Sarnman Pension' the application is required to be submitted within three years from the date of death, the application was filed three years and ten days after the death of the freedom fighter, and thus, there is a delay of about ten days beyond the prescribed period under the Scheme. learnecl counsel for the petitioner submitsb. In reply, that the respondents have erroneously calculated the period of three years. It is contended that the petitioner's forhusband died on 18.02.2022 and the application dependent family pension was submitted on O7'O|'2O25, which is admittedly within three years from the date of death 5. Having considered the rival submissions and upon perusal of the material placed on record, it is evident from -+ by thethe communii::ttion datcd 19.08.2025 addtessed Si:nior Manager, Cct-rtralised Pension Processing Centre, originalNelr' Delhi to respondent No.2 that as the application subrnitted bv the petitioner on o7-Ol-2025 was provide t1-r e petitioner \\'as requested tonot c:omplete .

complete applicalion again rvith proper attestation and verification Pursuant to the same, the petitioner submitted O1 03 2025 and thus theanother application dated petitioner macle tlrc clependerlt famiiv pension application r,l,ithin threc vears lrrlrn the date of dcath of her husband on 1.8.O2.2022. Thcreiore, [hc reasotl assigned by respondent No.2 ior rej cct ing the petitioncr's claim on the ground of c1etrr:y of ten dan's is filctuallv unsustairtable 1. In that vielv oi the matter, the impugned Letter be }ir,.112/6968/97 FF(IIC) ciated 14.O7.2A25, cannot sustained. allott'e d and the 8 Accorclinglr'. the' Writ Petition is ii;-.grirgncd L,,'ttcr No 112/6968197-FF(LIC.) dated i4.O'I . )O23 rs iict asirle, clirec:ting respondent No.2 to 5 reconsider the petitioner's applications dated OT.OL.2O2S and 01.03.2025 for dependent family pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana, in accordance with the applicable scheme basing on the documents furnished by the petitioner. If the petitioner is found eligible and has complied with all the requirements under the Scheme, the respondents shall sanction and disburse the dependent family pension to her in accordance with law. The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of four (04) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. There shall be no order as to costs. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in these Writ Petitions shall stand closed SD/- K.V.O. Narsi Babu ASSIS NT REGIST //TRUE COPY//

ECTION OFFICER To, '1 Central . The principal Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs North Block Secretariat Union of lndia, New Delhi - 110001 2. The Under Secretary to the Government of lndia, Ministry of Home Affairs Freedom Fighters Division / Swatantrata Sainik Samman Prabhag (Hyderabad Cell - Pension) 2nd Floor NDCC-Il Building Jai Singh Road New Delhi - 1 10001 3. The Principal Secretary Revenue / General Administration Department Telangana Secretariat BRKR Bhavan Hyderabad State of Telangana, Telangana - 500063 4. The District Collector, Peddapalli District Telangana - 5O5172 5. The Tahsildar / Mandal Revenue Officer, Peddapalli Mandal Peddapalli District Telangana - 505174 t Processing Pension Park 6 The Chief lvlanager, Union Bank of lndia''n'-luinooCentralized Green M"g Block-A Sli+ si'i centre (CPPC) 2nd Floor 1 10016 ixtension New Delhi - peddapa,i Branch peddapari of rndia, 7 The Branch Manager Union Bank District Telangana - 5051 74 8 ONE CC tO IVIR, SRINIVAS VELAGAPUDI AdVOCAIE [OPUCI IOPUCI C FOR CENTRAL GOW 9 One CC to lr,4R KATA ARVIND KUMAR' S 10 Two CD CoPies AGK \-v TJ CC TODAY HIGH COURT DATED: 1910812026 /e I \{E STATEORDER 6) rut 2$2t .DWP.No.27217 o12026 tr i * t DtsPgl ALLOWING THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS 6+ V \ Yka,r /.\l\"