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
