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Pay-scale fixation anomalies: HC orders refund of deducted salary to UP Police employees
Justice Manish Mathur passed the order on August 8 while hearing a batch of 53 petitions filed by Madan Ji Shukla and others. The petitioners had challenged deductions and adjustments made against them on grounds of anomalies in pay-scale fixation.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has quashed recovery orders of alleged ‘excess salary’ from Class III and Class IV employees of the Uttar Pradesh Police and directed the state’s home department to refund any such amount within eight weeks.
Justice Manish Mathur passed the order on August 8 while hearing a batch of 53 petitions filed by Madan Ji Shukla and others. The petitioners had challenged deductions and adjustments made against them on grounds of anomalies in pay-scale fixation.
The court ruled that the impugned recovery orders were passed merely on the basis of audit reports without affording the employees an opportunity of hearing. It also noted that there was no allegation of fraud or misrepresentation by the petitioners in securing the disputed pay-scales.
“Having regard to the above, the impugned orders in all the writ petitions are quashed. Liberty is granted to the opposite parties to pass orders afresh with regard to pay-fixation, but only after affording opportunity of hearing to the petitioners and considering their reply,” the court said.
The bench cited the Supreme Court ruling in State of Punjab & Others v. Rafiq Masih, which bars recovery of excess payments from Class III and IV employees. It directed that any recovery already made must be refunded within eight weeks of submission of a certified copy of the order.
The petitions had contested various government orders revising pay-scales earlier made admissible to the employees and initiating recovery of alleged excess amounts.
