Topic
Excess salary recovery in Indian service law refers to the recovery of overpaid wages or allowances from government employees, often after retirement or promotion errors.
Allahabad HC rules that recovery of excess salary paid over two decades without fraud or misrepresentation is inequitable and violates Article 21, treating pension as earned property. The judgment bars retrospective adjustments absent procedural fairness, impacting retired government employees.
Karnataka High Court reinforces the Rafiq Masih ruling, prohibiting recovery of excess salary from retired employees unless fault is established. The court directed recalculation of pension benefits with 6% interest from the retirement date, emphasizing natural justice in administrative errors.
The Chhattisgarh High Court quashed the recovery of Rs. 60,510 from a retired Class-III employee, ruling that delay of over four years in detecting payroll errors bars recovery under the Rafiq Masih precedent. This reinforces that public employers cannot claw back overpayments after unreasonable delays, even after retirement, protecting low-income service retirees from financial hardship.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that recovery of excess salary is lawful when an employee knew or ought to have known of their rank reduction. Pension must be calculated on lawful emoluments, not irregular payments, and equitable protection does not extend to those who retain benefits with awareness of their illegality.
Kerala High Court holds that recovery of excess salary after 20+ years is inequitable where employee committed no fault and is nearing retirement, citing Supreme Court precedents.