Moreover, harassment of a freedom fighter is contrary to the laudable object behind the pension scheme, added the bench. The court has directed the Union of India (Freedom Fighters' Division, New Delhi) to release the pension, along with arrears, from June 1976 till date. The central government has also been directed to pay interest on the pension held back at the rate of 18 per cent per annum. This payment has to be made within three months from the date of the court order. The government also hasto pay the cost of the petition to Pawar. When the union government announced a monthly pension scheme for freedom fighters in 1972, Pawar put in his application as well. After he produced the necessary documentary evidence to support his claim, he was sanctioned the pension. Since he was residing at the far off suburb of Kalwa in the Thane district, he received his pension from the Thane treasury. Payment was regular up to June 1976. Thereafter, Pawar fell ill, left for his native place in Satara, and returned to Kalwa in 1981. When he approached the treasury office to withdraw pension on his return, he was informed that as he had not claimed pension in the intervening five years, his accumulated pension and related documents had been sent back to the Central government. For years, Pawar sent letter after letter to the central government with no success, and he finally filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court in 1997. The court directed the government to decide on the merits of Pawar's application. InMay 1998, the government