The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that a public-spirited individual who voluntarily contributes to a cause, such as family planning, before joining government service is entitled to the benefits associated with that cause once they become a government employee.

This decision was made in light of a government circular aimed at encouraging family planning through sterilization (vasectomy/tubectomy) by offering advance increments to government employees who choose to undergo such procedures.

In the specific case, the petitioner, a Staff Nurse, had been granted an advance increment based on the July 25, 2001, government circular, which promoted the family planning program and encouraged government employees to opt for sterilization. The petitioner was granted the increment in 2013. However, in 2022, the government issued a notice demanding recovery of Rs. 2,51,038 from her, stating that since the petitioner had undergone sterilization before February 24, 2010, she was not eligible for the benefits granted in 2013. The petitioner had not been given a chance to defend herself before this recovery was imposed.

The Court clarified that such benefits apply even if the individual had undergone sterilization before joining government service.

A Bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar said, “…if a public spirited person, regardless of the fact whether he is a government servant or not, unselfishly gets himself/herself operated upon for family planning, such person cannot be deprived of the benefit of the aforesaid circular which provides for advance increments to government servants opting for family planning. This is for the reason that the ultimate object of the government is to control the birth rate and the explosion of population by resorting to family planning only, and if a person has contributed to the same cause while he/she was not in government service and subsequently joins the same, he/she is also entitled to the benefit of his/her benevolent act of helping the government in the retiral clause.”

Advocate Sumeet Samvatsar appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate Bhuwan Deshmukh appeared for the Respondent.

After reviewing the circular and its intent to promote family planning, the Court, “…circular has been issued by the State Government only to promote its family planning programme, and in such circumstances, if a person who has already taken steps for the family planning by resorting to Nasbandi prior to his appointment, and is subsequently appointed in the government service, cannot be said not to promote the government's family planning programme.”

The Court found that even if the petitioner had undergone sterilization before joining government service, she should still be entitled to the benefit under the scheme.

The Court also referred to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Thomas Daniel vs. State of Kerala, which held that excess payments made based on a wrong interpretation of rules should not be recoverable if there was no concealment of facts or intentional misrepresentation.

Consequently, the Court quashed the recovery order against the petitioner and ruled in her favor, stating that the impugned orders were invalid.

Cause Title: Gori Saxena v. The State of Madhya Pradesh Directorate AYUSH & Ors.

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