Recovery of excess payments from the widow of a Class-III employee post-mortem is impermissible under law, reaffirming the principle established in Rafiq Masih case.

Order :

Sachin Singh Rajput, J.

1. Instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been preferred by the petitioner seeking following reliefs :-

(i) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent concerned to refund recovered amount of Rs.83,432/- to the petitioner with interest.

(ii) Any other relief which the Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper may please also be granted.

2. Facts of the case, as reflected from the petition, are that the husband of the petitioner namely Mr. Gajendra Singh Naik, who was appointed on the post of Lower Division Clerk in the Department of Health & Family Welfare and joined his duties on the said post on 11.06.1985, died during the course of employment on 09.01.2014. Pay scale of Late Gajedra Singh Naik was revised time to time by the competent authority and other benefits were granted to him. After his death, petitioner being his legal Representative/unfortunate widow moved an application for granting retiral benefits before respondent authorities and in pursuance thereof, Respondent No. 3- Divisional Joint Director, Treasury Account & Pension issued a letter dated 24.01.2015 to respondent No. 2. Copy of the same has also been supplied to the petitioner. In compliance of the letter dated 24.01.2015, respondent No. 2 issued a letter to the petitioner on 23.05.2015 directing her to deposit an amount of Rs.83,432 through challan for disposal of pension case of her husband/ employee. Subsequently, on 03.06.2015 again for the same purpose a letter was issued by respondent No. 2 to the petitioner. In compliance of aforesaid letters, the petitioner deposited the aforesaid amount of Rs.83,432/- through challan in favour of respondents-Department on 05.06.2015 but despite that pension case of the petitioner's husband has not been finalized. Thereafter, petitioner moved an application before the respondents/authority for refund of aforesaid amount of Rs. 83,432/- and for granting pension, but the respondent/authority neither refunded the aforesaid amount nor granted family pension to the petitioner. It is pleaded that again a letter dated 15.07.2015 was issued by respondent No. 2 to the petitioner directing her to deposit further amount of Rs.48,756/- through challan for disposal of pension case of concerned employee. Subsequently again for the same purpose, a letter dated 12.08.2015 was issued by respondent No. 2 to the petitioner. Thereafter, without opportunity of hearing and without issuing show-cause notice to her, respondent No. 2 has recovered the total amount of Rs. 83,432/- from the petitioner.

3. Being aggrieved & dissatisfied with the said recovery, instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been preferred by the petitioner.

4. Respondents/ state has filed its return stating inter alia that after death of petitioner's husband late G.S. Nayak, calculation sheet of pension was forwarded to the Joint Director, Treasury, Accounts & Pension, Bilaspur on 07.06.2014 for finalization of her pension case. Vide letter dated 02.07.2014, officer of Joint Director, Treasury, Accounts and Pension, Bilaspur raised some objections in the deceased employee's pension. Thereafter, the respondent Department after examining the calculation of pension case of deceased employee and again sent the pension case alongwith service record to the Joint Director, Treasury, Accounts and Pension, Bilaspur. It is pertinent to mention here that at the time of fixation of pay and recovery of Rs.83,432/-, the petitioner has not raised any objection inspite of the fact that the same has duly