#recovery of excess payment

CAT Mumbai set aside ₹2,14,168 recovery from a Group C railway employee, holding excess pay cannot be recovered without notice and a hearing (Rafiq Masih, Thomas Daniel). It ordered the railway to restore basic pay to ₹87,700 and repay the amount with interest.

Patna HC upheld CAT's quashing of ₹4.87 lakh recovery from a railway employee granted premature MACP upgradation due to departmental error. The court ruled excess pay cannot be recovered absent employee misrepresentation, placing the burden of administrative mistakes on the department. This reinforces protection for government servants against financial liability for errors in pay fixation.