CAN’T RECOVER EXCESS SALARY PAID TO CLASS III, IV STAFF
SUPREME COURT
Press News by TOI
NEW
DELHI: Recovery of excess amount paid to Class-III and Class-IV
employees due to employer's mistake is not permissible in law, the
Supreme Court has ruled saying that it would cause extremely harsh
consequences to them who are totally dependent on their wages to run
their family.
The
apex court said employees of lower rung service spend their entire
earning in the upkeep and welfare of their family, and if such excess
payment is allowed to be recovered from them, it would cause them far
more hardship, than the reciprocal gains to the employer.
A bench
of JS Khehar and Arun Mishra also directed that an employer cannot
recover excess amount in case of a retired employee or one who is to
retire within one year and where recovery process is initiated five
years after excess payment.
"We are
therefore satisfied in concluding, that such recovery from employees
belonging to the lower rungs (i.e., Class-III and Class-IV - sometimes
denoted as Group 'C' and Group 'D') of service, should not be subjected
to the ordeal of any recovery, even though they were beneficiaries of
receiving higher emoluments, than were due to them. Such recovery would
be iniquitous and arbitrary and therefore would also breach the mandate
contained in Article 14 of the Constitution," Justice Khehar, who wrote
the judgment said.
It said
that the employer's right to recover has to compared, with the effect
of the recovery on the concerned employee and if the effect of the
recovery from the employee would be, more unfair, more wrongful, more
improper, and more unwarranted, than the corresponding right of the
employer, which would then make it iniquitous and arbitrary, to effect
the recovery.
"In
such a situation, the employee's right would outbalance, and therefore
eclipse, the right of the employer to recover," the bench said.
The
bench passed the order on a petition filed by Punjab government
challenging Punjab and Haryana high court order restraining it to
recover the excess amount paid by mistake to numerous employees over the
years.
It said
we may, as a ready reference, summarize the following few situations,
wherein recoveries by the employers, would be impermissible in law:
(i) Recovery from employees belonging to Class-III and Class-IV service (or Group 'C' and Group 'D' service).
(ii) Recovery from retired employees, or employees who are due to retire within one year, of the order of recovery.
(iii)
Recovery from employees, when the excess payment has been made for a
period in excess of five years, before the order of recovery is issued.
(iv)
Recovery in cases where an employee has wrongfully been required to
discharge duties of a higher post, and has been paid accordingly, even
though he should have rightfully been required to work against an
inferior post.
(v) In
any other case, where the Court arrives at the conclusion, that recovery
if made from the employee, would be iniquitous or harsh or arbitrary to
such an extent, as would far outweigh the equitable balance of the
employer's right to recover.
The
court said a government employee is primarily dependent on his wages,
and such deduction from salary should not be allowed which would make it
difficult for the employee to provide for the needs of his family and
any recovery must be done within five years.
In this case, the employees were given monetary benefits in excess of their entitlement due to a mistake committed by a concerned competent authority, in determining the emoluments payable to them.