The petition was filed by the wife of an employee who worked in the mathematics department of Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa (Evening) College. He had succumbed to COVID-19 in 2021. His wife had approached the principal of the College to release his retiral benefits and had submitted all the required documents for the same. However, all she received was the provident fund dues. She was surprised to be told that Delhi University had discovered that there were some dues recoverable from her husband. The College informed her that no payment could be released without Delhi University’s consent and that it could not release the gratuity or leave encashment either. She was told that her husband had been paid an excess amount of Rs 9 lakhs, which would be recovered from his leave encashment.
LiveLaw reports that the petitioner filed a representation requesting that the recovery be waived off. Delhi University conveyed to the College that the excess amount could be waived off if the Department of Expenditure (DoE) gave its consent. The College then forwarded the case to DoE and the Ministry of Finance. But on following up, the petitioner was told that no such letter had reached the DoE. Despite several letters and follow-ups, she received no response and no action was taken, which forced the petitioner to approach the Delhi High Court.
A Single Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice Jyoti Singh ruled that it was unfair to recover such a huge amount paid in excess by no fault of the employee. While an employer does have the right to recover an excess amount paid by mistake, the amount cannot be recovered in case it has been paid for over five years before issuing the order to recover the same. Such an arbitrary order would be unjust, said Justice Singh. Had the mistake been discovered within five years, the employer could have recovered the same from the employee’s benefits.
The Court has now ordered that the leave encashment dues be released and paid to the petitioner within six weeks from the date of receipt of the order along with interest at six per cent per year from the date of leave encashment becoming due till the date of payment.
