Recovery of excess pay from a retired Group C employee is impermissible.

The applicant, a retired Group C Loco Pilot (Mail), retired from Southern Railway on 31 July 2019.

In September 2019, the Railway re-fixed his pay with effect from 1 November 2005, stating that his pay had been incorrectly fixed under the Sixth Central Pay Commission, and sought recovery of alleged excess payments from his settlement dues.

The applicant challenged the re-fixation and recovery, contending that he had not caused the error.

The respondents rejected his representation, maintaining that the recovery followed correction of an inadvertent pay-fixation error.

The applicant conceded that ₹54,000 could be adjusted towards RELHSBE, leaving ₹1,00,286 in dispute.

1. Whether the respondents could recover ₹1,00,286 in alleged excess pay from the retiral benefits of a retired Group C employee, where the alleged pay-fixation error was not attributed to him.

2. Whether the applicant was entitled to release of the withheld retiral benefits and interest if payment was delayed.

The Tribunal relied on *State of Punjab v. Rafiq Masih*, AIR 2015 SC 696, including the categories identified in paragraph 12, which protect specified classes of employees from recovery of excess payments; it held that the applicant, as a retired Group C employee, fell within clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (v).

It also relied on *Regional Cancer Centre v. Ganga Devi C.*, 2022 (5) KHC 123, for the principle that re-fixation of pay after retirement followed by recovery of excess amounts is impermissible in the circumstances considered.

The respondents’ explanation that the pay had been incorrectly fixed did not, in the Tribunal’s view, justify recovery from this applicant’s retiral benefits.

The applicant was a Group C employee who had already retired, and the alleged error was not attributed to any role on his part.

Applying *Rafiq Masih* and the principle stated in *Ganga Devi C.*, the Tribunal found the proposed recovery of the remaining ₹1,00,286 unjustified.

It treated the ₹54,000 RELHSBE adjustment as conceded and confined its decision to the balance.

It directed the respondents to release the applicant’s retiral benefits within 60 days of receiving a copy of the order.

If payment was not made within that period, the amount would carry interest at 8%.

No costs were ordered.