Recovery of excess salary paid due to administrative error without employee misrepresentation is impermissible.

The petitioner was appointed as a Senior Bailiff in 1993

On 02.12.2022, the 6th Respondent issued an order (impugned) for the recovery of ₹2,62,511/-, alleging that the petitioner’s pay had been wrongly fixed and excess salary had been paid for the period between 01.06.1993 and 30.11.2022

The petitioner challenged this order, seeking to quash the recovery and maintain the existing pay fixation

1. Whether the authorities are empowered to rectify errors in pay fixation and grant revised pay in accordance with Pay Rules

2. Whether the recovery of excess salary paid over a long period due to administrative error, without misrepresentation by the employee, is legally permissible

The court held that while unjust gain of public money is impermissible and authorities may rectify pay fixation errors, they are restrained from recovering excess payments under certain conditions.

The court primarily relied on the legal principles enumerated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. Rafiq Masih (2015 4 SCC 334), which prohibits recovery from Class III/IV employees, retired employees (or those near retirement), or when the excess payment was made for a period exceeding five years before the recovery order

The Court observed that the respondents failed to establish any misrepresentation on the part of the petitioner regarding the pay fixation; rather, it was an error committed by the Establishment

Applying the Rafiq Masih precedent, the Court reasoned that the petitioner should not be penalized for an institutional lapse after nearly 30 years, as recovery at this stage would cause extreme hardship and be iniquitous

While the Court upheld the right of the state to fix the future pay correctly to prevent continued unjust gain, it found the retrospective recovery of the accumulated amount to be legally impermissible

The respondents were directed to repay any amount already recovered from the petitioner within 12 weeks. No costs were awarded