Department is planning to recover more than eight lakh from my salary in excess payment made to me from 2009. My case is urgent and I want quick advice from your website. I am employed in the irrigation department and at the post of head clerk. When the increment was added in my salary the department says that was erroneously added in my salary. Now I am going to retire in the month of September. All recovery will start from April 2025. In this situation I will face financial problems and not be able to manage my family. In this situation I have given several representations to the head of the department for not recovering any amount from my salary but it is planning to recover that amount from my salary.
Asked from: Uttar Pradesh
Based on the facts of your case, it appears that an anomaly in the fixation of your salary occurred in 2009. Now, as you approach retirement, it is evident that the incorrect salary fixation was not due to any fraud or misrepresentation on your part. The error was solely the fault of the department, which miscalculated your salary by wrongly interpreting the applicable rules or laws when adding increments in 2009. You had no role in this process, and therefore, you are not at fault. Any attempt to recover the excess salary from you at this stage would cause you immense hardship.
Your case is directly covered by the legal principles established by the Supreme Court in State of Punjab vs. Rafiq Masih (2015) 4 SCC 334. In this judgment, the Hon'ble Court held that no recovery can be made from Class III and IV employees who are due to retire within one year, particularly when the anomaly was committed more than five years before the order of recovery.
Additionally, in Col (Retd.) B. J. Akkara vs. Government of India (2006), the Supreme Court ruled that unless an employee has committed fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining an excess salary, the employer has no right to recover that amount.
Given these legal precedents, recovery in your case is not permissible. You should consider filing a writ petition in the High Court to challenge both the recovery order and the refixation of your salary. In light of the Supreme Court's rulings, the court is likely to grant an immediate stay on the recovery process and ultimately quash the order after providing the government an opportunity to be heard.
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