Pay old age pension without Aadhaar cards after verification: Allahabad HC

The petitioners claimed that they are not in possession of mobile numbers or Aadhaar cards on account of their financial status/lack of identification marks

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed to pay old age pension to those petitioners who don’t have Aadhaar cards and mobile phones after verifying their genuineness through bank records.

The order was passed on a PIL petition filed by one Mohana and other old persons last year. (For Representation)

The order was passed by a division bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice AR Masoodi on February 23 on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Mohana and other old persons last year seeking directives to restart their old age pension.

“... The available petitioners would appear before the District Social Welfare Officer, Unnao on 29.02.2024 along with their Pass Books, accounts numbers whereof have been indicated or any other material to indicate that they were being paid the old age pension prior to its alleged stoppage. The Officer may satisfy himself about the genuineness of the petitioners, however, he would not insist on production of mobile numbers/Aadhar Cards and in case he comes to the conclusion about the genuineness of the petitioners and that they are not being paid old age pension, the same would be paid to them,” the court said in its order.

The petitioners claimed that they are not in possession of mobile numbers or Aadhaar cards on account of their financial status/lack of identification marks. The petitioners’ counsel submitted that the petitioners are prepared to subject themselves to any kind of verification other than the said two requirements. He further submitted that he had information that a few petitioners had died during the pendency of the PIL.

Opposing the plea, the state counsel contended that no material had been produced to indicate that the old age pension was ever started. “Therefore, the petitioners have to establish that they were being paid pension which has been stopped,” the state counsel added. However, the state counsel was not averse to making efforts to establish their identity even when they are not in possession of mobile numbers/Aadhaar cards.

One such method to find out the existence/identity of the petitioners is through their bank account numbers, which are indicated in the list, as pass books of the petitioners would be having their photographs and as the claim pertains to the petitioners not possessing any other document, the said fact also can be verified, in case they appear personally before the respondents for the purpose, he further said.

In that view of the matter, the court passed the said order directing the verification report and the action taken by the state respondents to be produced before it on the next date of hearing on March 12.