CAN’T RECOVER EXCESS SALARY PAID TO CLASS III, IV STAFF
SUPREME COURT
Press News by TOI
NEW DELHI: 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.
