Madras High Court Orders Pension For Divorced Daughter Of Freedom Fighter

Last Updated:November 10, 2025, 19:28 IST

According to the petition, her father had served in the Indian National Army led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Burma and was imprisoned by the British for six months

The court directed the Centre to pass final orders within four months of receiving the State’s report. (File)

The Madras High Court recently held that divorced daughters of freedom fighters cannot be denied pensionary benefits merely because they were once married.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan, while allowing a writ petition filed by Thillai Lokanathan, quashed the Central Government’s rejection of her claim under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme (SSSP), 1980, and directed that she be granted pension from the date of her application.

The petitioner, daughter of late freedom fighters Shri Shanmuga Thevar and Tmt. Lakshmi, had approached the court after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rejected her plea seeking transfer of her deceased mother’s Central Samman Pension to her name. The rejection was based on Clause 5.2.5 of the 2014 guidelines governing the scheme, which excludes divorced daughters from claiming the pension.

According to the petition, her father had served in the Indian National Army led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Burma and was imprisoned by the British for six months. Her mother had also been a recipient of both Central and State Samman pensions until her death at the age of 83.

After suffering cruelty in marriage, the petitioner divorced her husband, a Singapore citizen, and returned to India, where she lived with her mother. Following her mother’s death, she applied for the transfer of the Central Samman pension, citing her deteriorating health and lack of financial support.

The Union Government opposed the plea, contending that under the 2014 guidelines, a dependent daughter must be both unmarried and without independent income to qualify for benefits. It cited several precedents, including State of H.P. v. Jafli Devi (1997) and Union of India v. Laxmibai (2011), to support its argument that divorced daughters are not entitled to maintenance.

The petitioner’s counsel, advocate A.P. Surya Prakasam, relied on Khajani Devi v. Union of India, decided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2016, and Union of India v. Kolli Uday Kumari, decided by the Delhi High Court in 2023, where courts held that divorced daughters must be treated on par with unmarried daughters under the same pension scheme. The Supreme Court had in 2019 upheld the Khajani Devi decision, terming it a “progressive and socially constructive approach" to ensure parity between divorced and unmarried daughters.

Justice Lakshminarayanan observed that the object of the Samman Pension Scheme is to recognise the sacrifices made by freedom fighters and to ensure dignity for their dependents. He noted that the Union’s reliance on judgments dealing with compassionate appointments or maintenance law was misplaced since those cases did not involve the SSSP scheme.

Holding that the reasoning in Khajani Devi applied squarely to the present case, the court declared the Centre’s decision unsustainable and struck down the order denying pension to the petitioner.

The court directed that the petitioner be paid pension from January 27, 2023, the date of her application. It further directed the Union Government to complete necessary formalities within eight weeks and the State Government to conduct an enquiry into her financial condition within four weeks. The court directed the Centre to pass final orders within four months of receiving the State’s report.

Salil Tiwari

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...Read More

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...

Read More

News india Madras High Court Orders Pension For Divorced Daughter Of Freedom Fighter

Read More