Employee continued beyond superannuation due to clerical oversight must be treated as re-employed and entitled to salary.

The applicant was appointed as a Khalasi on November 19, 1983.

Due to a clerical oversight by the respondents, he continued to work until November 30, 2023, despite reaching his superannuation age on January 31, 2023.

Following a previous Tribunal order (OA No. 58 of 2024), the respondents treated him as retired on his actual due date but subsequently deducted ₹9,27,517.00 from his retirement gratuity as recovery for salary paid during the overstay period (February–October 2023).

The applicant challenged this recovery and sought payment for his November 2023 salary along with interest on delayed settlement dues.

1. Whether the respondents were legally entitled to recover salary paid to the applicant for the period he worked beyond his superannuation date due to clerical error.

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to salary for the service rendered in November 2023 and interest on delayed retirement benefits.

The Tribunal applied the equitable principle that an employee should not be penalized for an employer’s administrative lapse (clerical oversight) where there was no misrepresentation or fraud by the employee.

The court also applied the doctrine of "re-employment" for unauthorized overstay in service to balance the scales of equity, ensuring the employee is compensated for work performed while the employer accounts for pension payments already disbursed.

The Tribunal noted that the applicant's overstay was not due to any misrepresentation on his part but was solely a "clerical oversight" by the respondents.

The Tribunal reasoned that the most equitable solution was to treat the overstay period as a "re-employment".

Under this framework, the applicant is entitled to the same salary he was drawing at the time of superannuation, but the respondents are permitted to deduct any pension and fixed allowances already paid to him during that same period to prevent double enrichment.

Regarding interest, the Tribunal found that since the delay in settlement was caused by the respondents' error, interest is payable from the date the applicant actually stopped working (November 30, 2023) until the date of payment.

The respondents were directed to: (i) pay the applicant his salary for the overstay period at the rate drawn in January 2023, minus pension and fixed allowances already paid; and (ii) pay interest at the applicable bank rate on all delayed retirement dues, calculated from November 30, 2023, until the actual payment date.

Compliance was ordered within three months.