IMPORTANT POINT
Excess amount paid to employees because of inaction, negligence and carelessness of the officials concerned cannot be recovered.

JUDGMENT

B.N. Agrawal, J. —

1.These appeals by special leave are directed against the common judgment of Patna High Court whereby a Division Bench of that Court dismissed letters patent appeals preferred by the appellants herein against that part of the judgment of the learned Single Judge in which it was decided that Office Order dated 16.11.2000 issued by the Finance Department, Government of Bihar, providing that fixation of pay scale on promotion of Assistant Teachers of the Government taken over Schools [the Nationalised Schools] in the State of Bihar shall be governed by Fundamental Rule 22(1)(a)(2) [FR.22(I)(a)(2)] instead of Fundamental Rule 22-C [FR.22-C], was valid. By the same judgment, the Division Bench allowed letters patent appeals preferred by the State of Bihar and set aside that part of judgment of the learned Single Judge whereby it was decided that Office Order dated 16.11.2000 would apply prospectively and not retrospectively and that recovery of the amount paid in excess in breach of FR.22(I)(a)(2) from the appellants was not to be made. While setting aside the judgment of the learned Single Judge and holding that, since Office Order dated 16.11.2000 only reiterated that the amended provisions of FR.22-C would apply and not FR.22-C, the question of its applicability with retrospective or prospective effect did not arise, the Division Bench directed that the excess amount paid to the employees be recovered without interest in at least 50 instalments provided such an employee had the tenure of 50 months or more so that such an employee did not suffer unnecessary brunt of a cut in the salary.

2.While Civil Appeal Nos. 3351-54 and 3364 have been preferred by the aggrieved Assistant Teachers of the Nationalised Schools, Civil Appeal No. 3355 has been preferred by the Bihar Secondary Teachers Association.

3.We now proceed to the facts relevant for the disposal of these appeals. The appellants herein are the Assistant Teachers of the Nationalised Schools in the State of Bihar, administrative control of which lies with the Department of Human Resource Development, Government of Bihar. Exercising powers under Section 9 of the Bihar Non-Government Secondary School [Take Over of Management and Control] Act, 1981, the State Government vide Notification No. 12/B 8-760/75-398 dated 9th June, 1983 framed Bihar Nationalised Secondary School [Service Condition] Rules, 1983 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the 1983 Rules’] and under rule 3 of the 1983 Rules, the secondary school teachers of the Nationalised Schools were categorised. The hierarchy of promotion of these teachers was from the post of Assistant Teacher [Junior Grade] to the post of Assistant Teacher [Subordinate Grade], then to the post Assistant Teachers [Selection Grade] and finally to the post of Head Master, which was the highest promotional post. Rule 17 of the 1983 Rules provided that the pay scale of the teachers of the Nationalised Secondary Schools would be determined as per Bihar Service Code and Rules issued by the State Government from time to time. At that point of time, the time scale of these teachers was regulated under Rule 78 of the Bihar Service Code. In order to remove anomaly in the pay scales of teachers of the Nationalised Schools in the State of Bihar and in terms of Bipartite Agreement entered into between the State Government on the one hand and Secondary School Teachers Association and other Unions on the other, the Finance Department, Government of Bihar, vide its Resolution dated 18th December, 1989 took a decision with regard to revision of pay scales of teachers of the Nationalised Schools based on the recommendations of the 4th Pay Revision Committee appointed by the State Government, which recommendations were made applicable to all the teachers who were in service on 1st January, 1986 and those who joined or were promoted thereafter. Clause 13 of the said Resolution provided that revised pay scales indicated in Schedule II of the said