Panaji: The Goa Human Rights Commission has held that recovering excess salary paid to a retired employee from his retiral dues is impermissible and violates human rights.The commission recommended that govt refund Rs 1,12,680 deducted from the gratuity of a Group C employee of the water resources department, along with 6% simple interest from Nov 1, 2025, until payment. It directed that the refund be made within a month.The employee, an upper division clerk, retired on Oct 31, 2025. On receiving his Pension Payment Order in March 2026, he found that Rs 1,12,680 had been recovered from his gratuity without his consent.While the department said the amount related to an extra increment and the assistant accounts officer claimed the recovery was lawful, the commission disagreed.“A retired employee, especially one from Class-III or Class-IV service, should not be penalised for a mistake committed by the employer decades ago. If the employee did not misinterpret, did not commit fraud, and did not induce the department to make excess payment, recovery after retirement would ordinarily be harsh, inequitable and legally unsustainable,” said Member-II of the Goa Human Rights Commission Pramod V. Kamat.The commission said courts have repeatedly held that recovery from retiral benefits, particularly from lower-rung employees, can cause severe financial hardship when the excess payment was received bona fide.“The principle is simple: if there is no fraud, no misinterpretation and no fault of the employee, a recovery after retirement would ordinarily be inequitable,” it said.The commission also rejected the argument that undertakings or indemnity bonds signed during pay fixation or pension processing automatically permit recovery, noting that courts have held such undertakings cannot be used as a “mechanical weapon”.
