LINGARAJA RATH, J. - (1.) The petitioner who is admittedly a Freedom Fighter and in the Central Pension under 'Swatantra Sainik Sanman Scheme, 1980'. He made an application in November, 1993 for preferential appointment of his son as the son of a Freedom Fighter to the post befitting his qualification. His son is an Engineering graduate. No action having been taken upon the application, the Court has been moved for the desired relief.
(2.) Reliance is placed by the learned counsel for the petitioner on the observations of the Apex Court in Mukund Lal Bhandari v. Union of India (1) AIR 1993 SC 2127, in last two sentences of Paragraph 5 thereof, which runs as folio ws:- "Lastly, the pension under the present Scheme is not the only benefit made available to the freedom fighters or their dependants. The preference in employment, allotment of accommodation and in admission to schools and colleges to their kith and kin etc., are also the other benefits which have been made available to them for quite sometime now". It is on the basis of these observations that the learned counsel urges of there being a right in the legal heirs of the Freedom Fighters to have job opportunities on preferential basis as a matter of right.
(3.) Counter-affidavit has been filed contesting the claim saying that there is no scheme in operation providing such job opportunities to the progeny of the Freedom Fighters.;