Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 28: High Court has set-aside the orders withholding the gratuity and leave salary of a Technician on his superannuation with the direction to the respondents to release all the benefits within a period of one month failing which petitioner shall be entitled to payment of interest at the rate of 9% per annum.
The petitioner Abdul Majeed Lone retired on superannuation on September 29, 2012 as Technician and accordingly Executive Engineer General Division LJHP Baramulla processed his pension case and submitted the file to the Accountant General (A&E) for sanctioning of pension.
However, instead of sanctioning of pension the respondents issued orders directing that an amount reckoned and calculated at Rs 15,95,948 be recovered from the retiral benefits like gratuity etc and the pension of the petitioner as he has mistakenly been given the benefit of SRO-149 of 1973 dated April 7, 1973.
However, the petitioner challenged these orders before the High Court on various grounds.
After hearing counsels for both the sides, Justice M K Hanjura while quoting judgments of the Supreme Court observed, “petitioner retired on February 29, 2012 and the order whereby benefit of SRO-149 of 1973 was bestowed unto the petitioner was passed on March 27, 2004. First, the recovery was directed to be effected from the pensionary benefits of the petitioner after his superannuation and secondly it was directed to be made after the expiry of a period of almost 8 years from the date of issuance of order”.
“The law is very loud and clear. It directs that the recovery from an employee who is due to retire within one year of the order of recovery cannot be made. It further provides that the recovery from the employee when the excess payment has been made for a period in excess of five years before the order of recovery is issued, cannot be ordered”, Justice Hanjura said, adding “the order of recovery is bad in law”.
“Moreover, the order has not been reviewed in compliance with Rule 55 of the J&K CCA Rules which clearly provides that the authority passing an order may review such an order or that of his predecessor either suo-moto or at the instance of the aggrieved party within a period of 90 days”.
Accordingly, Justice Hanjura set-aside the impugned orders and directed the respondents to release the full pension and gratuity within one month. “In case the respondents fail to do so within this period the petitioner shall be entitled to payment of interest at the rate of 9% per annum which shall be paid and deducted from the salary of the officers on account of whose negligence and callousness the delay has occurred”.
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