Recovery of Excess Pay from Group 'C' Employees After Five Years is Impermissible and Iniquitous

The three applicants were recruited as Operation Theatre (OT) Technicians by the Government of NCT of Delhi in 2003 under an employment notice offering a pay scale of Rs. 5000-8000/-

They served in this capacity and received said pay for over twelve years

On 12.05.2015, the respondents issued an order reducing their pay scale to Rs. 4000-6000/- and directing recovery of alleged excess payments made after 14.05.2010

The respondents justified this based on a clarification that OT Technicians without a B.Sc. and Diploma were entitled only to the lower scale

The applicants challenged the order, citing a violation of natural justice and protection against recovery under Supreme Court precedents

1. Whether the summary reduction of pay scale and direction for recovery without a show-cause notice violated the principles of natural justice

2. Whether the recovery of alleged excess payments from Group ‘C’ employees after a period of twelve years is legally permissible under the doctrine of equity

3. Whether the matter was res integra (already decided) due to prior High Court litigation involving the same category of employees

The Tribunal primarily applied the principles of equity and the bar against recovery from specific classes of employees as established in State of Punjab & Others v. Rafiq Masih (White Washer), which prohibits recovery from Group ‘C’/Class III employees or when excess payments exceed five years

It further relied on Col. B.J. Akkara (Retd.) v. Government of India, which held that relief against recovery is an exercise of judicial discretion to prevent undue hardship where no fraud or misrepresentation by the employee exists

The Tribunal also observed the mandatory requirement of audi alteram partem (natural justice) for administrative actions entailing civil consequences

The Tribunal found that while the High Court had previously ruled in Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Rajaram that the lower pay scale was technically correct for those lacking specific qualifications, the same judgment protected pay already drawn

The Tribunal analyzed the applicants' status as Group ‘C’ employees and noted they were recruited via an official notice offering the higher scale; thus, there was no fraud or misrepresentation

Applying the Rafiq Masih test, the Tribunal determined that seeking recovery twelve years after appointment—and five years after the purported 2010 clarification—was "iniquitous and arbitrary"

Furthermore, the respondents’ failure to issue a show-cause notice before affecting the applicants' livelihood rendered the impugned order procedurally void

The respondents were ordered to refund any amounts already recovered within three months. However, the Tribunal did not disturb the prospective rollback of the pay scale to Rs. 4000-6000/- as per the High Court’s earlier mandate, provided that "personal pay protection" is extended to the applicants as directed by the superior court