In an important case offering some relief to the government employees who had retired, the Chhattisgarh High Court ruled in favor of a recovery order issued by the General Provident Fund (GPF) over six months after retirement. The court stated that any recovery of the GPF of a government officer or employee in excess of six months after the date of retirement is illegal and contrary to the natural rules.
The order resulted when a writ petition was heard by retired lecturer Laxmi Narayan Tiwari, who was a resident of Pamgarh in the Janjgir-Champa district. On 31 January 2011, Tiwari retired after reaching the age of 62 and had been a lecturer at the Government Higher Secondary School in Sasaha.
Almost twelve years after his retirement, the Accountant General’s office in Raipur had issued a recovery order against him on the basis of a negative balance in his GPF account. Tiwari turned to the High Court, complaining about the legality of the order with regard to a contended delay in its recovery.
In his appearance before the court, the petitioner’s counsel claimed that according to the service regulations, all government dues need to be recovered within six months of retirement. This is not allowable after this time. The petitioner based her case on Rule 65 of the Civil Service Pension Rule of Chhattisgarh, which says quite clearly that in an account of a government servant where a negative balance is realized, recovery is possible only within six months of retirement.
The court of High Court concluded with the arguments provided by the petitioner after scrutinizing the provisions and the realities involved. The court noted that the recovery process, having been initiated after an unreasonable delay of 12 years, was not only against the rules of pension but also could not be held in law.
Based on this, the High Court has overturned the recovery order of the Accountant General’s Office and provided relief to Laxmi Narayan Tiwari. The ruling is likely to be a valuable precedent, which will protect retired government workers against unlawful and delayed recoveries from their retirement funds.
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