Administrative orders affecting an employee's civil rights, including the withdrawal of financial benefits or recovery, require strict adherence to the principles of natural justice through prior notice. Subsequent departmental actions inconsistent with the initial claim of ineligibility invalidate such punitive administrative measures taken against a retired employee.

JUDGMENT :

ANAND SHARMA, J.

1. By way of filing this writ petition, petitioner-State Government has assailed order dated 07.10.2025 passed by Rajasthan Civil Service Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur in Appeal No.2009/2023, whereby the appeal filed by the respondent- employee has been allowed and orders for modifying/withdrawing the benefits of selection grade as well as of effecting recovery from respondent-employee have been quashed.

2. It is stated in writ petition that the respondent- employee filed an appeal before the Tribunal stating therein that he was initially engaged as Cleaner cum Chowkidar and was promoted from time to time and on the date of retirement, he was holding the post of Assistant Driller.

3. It is the case of the respondent-employee that the petitioner-Department granted benefit of second selection scale to the respondent in the pay scale of Rs.3200-4900 and thereafter, vide order dated 29.07.2008, even benefit of third selection scale in the pay scale of Rs.4000-6000 was also granted to the respondent. It was stated in memo of appeal that without affording any opportunity of hearing and without even making compliance of principles of natural justice, orders dated 14.08.2020 were issued by the petitioners for withdrawing/modifying the earlier benefits granted to the employee. This action of the petitioner-Department is detrimental to the interest of respondent-employee and the petitioner- Department also directed for effecting recovery of alleged excess amount from the respondent-employee. It was also stated that in the meanwhile, on attaining the age of superannuation, respondent-employee retired w.e.f. 31.08.2020. The appeal filed by the respondent-employee was finally allowed by the Tribunal, quashing the orders dated 14.08.2020 passed by the petitioner-Department.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that order dated 07.10.2025 has been passed by the Tribunal without properly appreciating the facts of the case, material on record and law prevailing at relevant time. It is further submitted that when the pension matter of the respondent-employee was forwarded by the petitioner-Department to Pension Department, objections were raised regarding wrongly granting benefit of second and third selection grade to the respondent-employee, accordingly in the light of objections raised by Pension Department, impugned orders were passed.

5. It has also been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that the respondent-employee was not eligible to hold the higher post of Assistant Driller, for which selection grade was granted to the respondent-employee, therefore, no mistake whatsoever was committed by the petitioner-Department in withdrawing the benefits erroneously granted earlier to the respondent-employee.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submitted that an employee is entitled for the benefits under the Rules and in case, wrong benefits have been awarded to the employee, the State Government is well within its right to withdraw the wrong benefits and to make recovery from the concerned employees.

7. The writ petition filed by the petitioner-Department has been o