The Madras High Court ruled that recovering excess salary from a retired employee is illegal. The court overturned an order from the Central University of Tamil Nadu, which sought to reclaim from a retired professor for alleged overpayment.
The case began when Nirmal Selvamony, who retired as a professor in 2018, petitioned the Court. The university had demanded repayment of what it claimed was excess salary paid to him during his tenure. This demand came nearly three years after his retirement. The Court then scrutinised the validity of such a late claim.
Selvamony had served as an assistant professor in 2011, was later promoted to professor, and retired in 2018. Instead of receiving his entitled benefits, he was instructed by the university to repay Rs 16.49 lakh, which the university claimed was excess salary.
The Court referenced a Supreme Court ruling and determined that the university’s attempt to recover the excess salary was unjustifiable. This was especially true considering the three-year delay since the professor’s retirement. The judge also noted that the alleged excess payments dated back to 6 January, 2012. However, recovery proceedings were only initiated in 2021, nearly a decade later.
The Court also directed the university to release all terminal benefits, including gratuity and earned leave encashment, owed to Selvamony within two months.
In its defence, the university argued that Selvamony’s salary should have been adjusted against his pension from a previous tenure at Madras Christian College, where he worked for 26 years. It cited the Central Civil Services (Fixation of Pay of Reemployed Pensioners) Orders, 1986, to justify it’s claim. However, the Court found this argument unconvincing, as Selvamony was not re-employed in a civil service role connected with the Union government, making the university’s order unsustainable under the cited regulations.
This case highlights the complexities surrounding post-retirement financial claims and reinforces the legal protections available to retired employees against such recoveries.
