NT Reporter
Panaji
The Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has recommended the immediate release of pension and all post-retirement benefits to a former Goa Civil Service officer without recovering alleged excess salary paid during his service.
It observed that withholding the pension and seeking recovery after retirement violated the complainant’s human rights and was contrary to Supreme Court judgments and the government’s own circulars.
The case was filed by Shripad Arlekar against the Directorate of Health Services and the Directorate of Accounts after his pension was withheld following his retirement on November 30, 2025.
The dispute arose after the Directorate of Accounts issued a revised pay fixation statement on May 4, claiming that Arlekar had received an excess increment from October 1, 2014, to November 30, 2025, and sought recovery of the alleged overpayment from his retirement benefits.
The Commission relied on Supreme Court judgments, including Jogeshwar Sahoo, State of Punjab vs Rafiq Masih (White Washer), Thomas Daniel and Syed Abdul Qadir. The judgments held that excess payments resulting from administrative mistakes cannot ordinarily be recovered from retired employees who neither committed fraud nor misrepresented facts.
The Commission also referred to Goa government Office Memoranda adopting these principles.
The Commission observed the authorities, having failed to verify and rectify the pay fixation during Arlekar’s service, “cannot now, after the complainant’s retirement, effect recovery on the basis of an alleged overpayment made years earlier.”
The Commission noted that Arlekar had remained without pension or provisional pension for over eight months after retirement, despite the CCS (Pension) Rules making such payments mandatory. It held that the respondents had violated his human rights by disregarding Supreme Court rulings and government instructions.
GHRC has directed that the dues be paid within 30 days, along with simple interest at six per cent per annum from December 1, 2025, until final payment.
The Commission has also sought a compliance report from the respondents within the stipulated period.
