State Not Entitled To Recover Excess Amount Paid To Retired Officer Due To Mistake On State's Part : Calcutta High Court

The division bench in the Calcutta High Court, comprising Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta held that the state is not entitled to recover excess amount paid to a retired officer if that amount was paid to the employee due to mistake on the state's part. Despite this the petitioner's higher pay salary was not adjusted with his current position until his retirement in the year 2019, wherein the state sought to recover the excess amount he received from his salary. It was contended by the petitioner that, firstly the state government has made a fault from their side by paying him the excess amount based on his last drawn salary from the Indian air force, despite the circular dated September 22, 1995. Findings and observations of the court It was observed by the court that despite the protection granted by West Bengal Administrative tribunal, the state continued with its erroneous mistake of providing with the highest pay scale to the petitioner rather than reverting to the fixed pay scale as per the circular dated 1995, which was a mistake on the part of the state.