Recovery of excess amount paid to Class-III
and Class-IV employees due to employer's mistake is not permissible in law, the
Supreme Court has ruled saying that it would cause extremely harsh consequences
to them who are totally dependent on their wages to run their family.
The apex court said employees of lower rung
service spend their entire earning in the upkeep and welfare of their family,
and if such excess payment is allowed to be recovered from them, it would cause
them far more hardship, than the reciprocal gains to the employer.
A bench
of JS Khehar and Arun Mishra also directed that an employer cannot recover
excess amount in case of a retired employee or one who is to retire within one
year and where recovery process is initiated five years after excess
payment.
"We
are therefore satisfied in concluding, that such recovery from employees
belonging to the lower rungs (i.e., Class-III and Class-IV - sometimes denoted
as Group 'C' and Group 'D') of service, should not be subjected to the ordeal
of any recovery, even though they were beneficiaries of receiving higher
emoluments, than were due to them. Such recovery would be iniquitous and
arbitrary and therefore would also breach the mandate contained in Article 14
of the Constitution," Justice Khehar, who wrote the judgment said.
It said that the employer's right to recover
has to compared, with the effect of the recovery on the concerned employee and
if the effect of the recovery from the employee would be, more unfair, more
wrongful, more improper, and more unwarranted, than the corresponding right of
the employer, which would then make it iniquitous and arbitrary, to effect the
recovery.
"In such a situation, the employee's
right would outbalance, and therefore eclipse, the right of the employer to
recover," the bench said.
The bench passed the order on a petition filed
by Punjab government challenging Punjab and Haryana high court order
restraining it to recover the excess amount paid by mistake to numerous
employees over the years.
It said we may, as a ready reference,
summarize the following few situations, wherein recoveries by the employers,
would be impermissible in law:
(i) Recovery from employees belonging to
Class-III and Class-IV service (or Group 'C' and Group 'D' service).
(ii) Recovery from retired employees, or
employees who are due to retire within one year, of the order of
recovery.
(iii) Recovery from employees, when the excess
payment has been made for a period in excess of five years, before the order of
recovery is issued.
(iv) Recovery in cases where an employee has
wrongfully been required to discharge duties of a higher post, and has been
paid accordingly, even though he should have rightfully been required to work
against an inferior post.
(v) In any other case, where the Court arrives
at the conclusion, that recovery if made from the employee, would be iniquitous
or harsh or arbitrary to such an extent, as would far outweigh the equitable
balance of the employer's right to recover.
The court said a government employee is
primarily dependent on his wages, and such deduction from salary should not be
allowed which would make it difficult for the employee to provide for the needs
of his family and any recovery must be done within five years.
In this case, the employees were given
monetary benefits in excess of their entitlement due to a mistake committed by
a concerned competent authority, in determining the emoluments payable to them.
Source : Times of India
