New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI)The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court directing the state government to grant pensions to the detainees under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and J K Maheshwari issued notices to 47 people receiving pension on a plea challenging the January 25, 2022 order of the high court.

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The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the Chhattisgarh government contending that the high court has dismissed its plea in a technical manner without appreciating that if the state government has the power to grant benefit, it also has the power to withdraw it.

Advocate Sumeer Sodhi, appearing for Chhattisgarh, submitted that the scheme imposes a financial burden of nearly Rs 10 crore per annum on the state government.

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"On account of huge financial burden upon the state, and the apparent lack of public interest, coupled with the fact that Rules had no source of law and encroached upon a matter exclusively under the purview of the Centre, the petitioner state took the decision to withdraw the benefit," the state government said in its appeal.

The scheme was meant for people jailed under these provisions, including MISA, during the Emergency (which was in force from June 25, 1975, to March 31, 1977).

Under the scheme, people who spent three months in jail under MISA during the Emergency were being given Rs 10,000 per month. Those imprisoned for six months were getting Rs 15,000 per month and those jailed for over six months were Rs 25,000. PTI PKS

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)