The Allahabad High Court today rejected a petition seeking a direction to Uttar Pradesh government that benefits of "Loktantra Senani" pension scheme be extended to those who were arrested in the state for taking part in the "JP movement" of 1974 which preceded the Emergency.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Yashwant Varma, dismissed the petition filed by Anil Kumar Singh and 13 others from eastern UP district of Deoria who submitted that in neighboring Bihar, a similar pension scheme covered both those arrested during the Emergency as well as those sent to jail for participating in the agitations of 1974 inspired by Jayaprakash Narayan.
However, in UP only those who were held under Maintenance of Internal Security Act and Defence of India Regulations Act during the period between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977 were deemed as eligible for receiving pensions under the scheme.
The court rejected the petition observing that the state government had the right to take a policy decision as to who should be covered under a scheme launched by it and that it would not be proper for the court to interfere in the matter.
