Recovery of Excess Salary Payments Prohibited; Respondents Retain Liberty to Re-fix Pay and Pension

The applicant, Vias Raj, a retired Pump Driver from the Jal Shakti (PHE) Department, retired on June 30, 2021.

He filed this Original Application seeking a direction to the respondents to fix his pension and post-retirement benefits based on his last pay drawn and to release all pending dues, arrears, and gratuity.

The dispute centers on the implementation of SRO 59 and the subsequent calculation of retiral benefits.

1. Whether the respondents are entitled to recover excess payments made to the employee during his service while re-fixing his pensionary benefits.

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to have his pension and post-retirement benefits settled in light of the judicial precedent set by the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir.

The Tribunal applied the legal principle established by the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir in UT of J&K & Ors. v. Maqbool Sheikh & Ors. (WP(C) No. 936/2025), which dictates that while the government maintains the liberty to re-fix pay or pension by excluding wrongly granted benefits, it is prohibited from recovering excess amounts already paid to employees.

This follows the broader equitable doctrine against recovery from retired or low-earning employees as seen in Indian service jurisprudence.

The Tribunal noted that the controversy regarding SRO 59 is no longer res integra (an unsettled point of law) due to the conclusive judgment in Maqbool Sheikh.

The court examined the High Court's mandate, which explicitly modifies orders to prevent the recovery of excess payments and requires the refund of any such amounts already recovered.

Applying this to the applicant’s facts, the Tribunal reasoned that while the respondents have the authority to re-fix the applicant's pay or pension to correct past errors, they cannot withhold or recover previously disbursed excess amounts.

Consequently, the service records and Last Pay Certificate (LPC) must be processed to ensure the final settlement of dues in accordance with these specific legal boundaries.

It held that no recovery of excess pay shall be made, and any recovered amount must be refunded.

The respondents were ordered to forward the complete service record and LPC to the Accountant General for the final release of all pensionary and consequential retiral benefits within four weeks.

No order as to costs was made.