Employer Cannot Raise A Demand For Excess Amount Paid To An Employee On Erroneous Fixation Of Pay Scale Under Career Advancement Scheme: Calcutta HC
The Calcutta High Court has held that an employer cannot raise a demand for an excess amount paid to an employee on erroneous fixation of the pay scale under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS).
The Court dismissed an Appeal filed by the State challenging the decision of the Single Bench to not allow a refund of the excess amount paid to an employee. The Division Bench had to determine whether an authority could deduct, adjust or raise the demand for a refund of the excess amount paid to an employee on erroneous fixation of the scale of pay from the retiral benefits or the future pensionary benefits.
A Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Prasenjit Biswas observed, “An employee who has rendered services is expected to get the retiral dues admissible to the post as recognition of satisfactory services rendered by him. Withholding of the retiral benefits unreasonably and without any powers having reserved in the Relevant Rules put such employee to an unequal bargaining so as to succumb to the command of the authorities. It is not expected from the litigant to prevaricate it stands at the different stages of the adjudicatory process relying on certain documents without satisfying the legal parameters set forth in this regard.”
Additional Government Pleader Tapan Kumar Mukherjee represented the Appellants, while Advocate Sourav Chowdhury appeared for the Respondents.
The Respondent (Employee) was appointed as a lecturer at a college where he retired. He was granted CAS benefits. The dispute arose over the effective dates for these benefits, with the State contending that the Respondent did not fulfill the eligibility criteria for the one-year relaxation under a government order. The State sought to recover the alleged excess payment made due to erroneous fixation of pay.
The High Court referred to the decision in Shyam Babu Verma v. Union of India (1994), wherein the Apex Court held that “the authorities cannot deduct and/or adjust nor can seek for refund of the excess amount paid due to the erroneous fixation of scale of pay from the retiral benefits unless the employee is found to have committed the act of fraud, misrepresentation or of like nature.”
“Taking into the aforesaid facts as it stands we do not find any justification on the part of the appellant in attempting to recover the excess overdrawal amount from the retiral benefits,” the Court remarked.
Consequently, the Court held, “On the conspectus of the facts narrated hereinabove, we do not find that the appellant can take advantage of such undertaking having not given at the time of availing the benefit under the Career Advancement Scheme and therefore, the judgment of the Single Bench cannot be said to be infirmed and/or illegal.”
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Appeal.
Cause Title: The State of West Bengal & Ors. v. Samar Chattopadhyay & Ors.
Appearance:
Appellants: Additional Government Pleader Tapan Kumar Mukherjee
Respondents: Advocates Sourav Chowdhury, Sukla Das Chandra, Ekramul Bari, Sk. Imtiaz Uddin and Alauddin Ahmed
