Purnima Saikia (Kachari) v. The State of Assam and 5 Ors

ORDER

12.03.2024 Heard Mr. S Dey, learned counsel for the petitioner. Mr. D Upamanyu, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 1 & 5, Ms. A Sharma, learned counsel for respondent Nos. 2 & 3 and Mr. B Gogoi, learned counsel for the Finance Page No.# 3/5 Department respondent No. 4. [2.] By filing this writ petition, the petitioner seeks for a direction to the respondent authorities concerned to refund a sum of Rs. 3,42,474/- which was deducted through PPO dated 03.06.2022 on the ground that the late husband of the petitioner was given excess pay for the period between 1999 to 11.09.2021. It is the case of the petitioner that her husband expired that 11.09.2021 before his superannuation, which was due within a few months' time and therefore, in view of the Apex Court decision rendered in State of Punjab vs. Rafik Masih & Ors, reported in 2015 4 SCC 334 and pursuant to which the State Government in the Finance Department had also issued the O.M dated 14.06.2019 (Annexure-3), the amount that was deducted should be refunded to the petitioner. Counsel for the petitioner referring to paragraph No. 4 (ii) of the O.M dated 14.06.2019 submits that recovery should not be made from retired employees or employees who are due to retire within one year of the order or recovery. Since the husband of the petitioner was due to retire in a few months' time before he expired on 11.09.2021, the case of the petitioner is squarely covered by this provision. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that at any rate, the late husband of the petitioner is in no way responsible for the wrong fixation of his pay and therefore, in view of the decision of the Apex Court in Rafik Masih & Ors (supra), the amount that was deducted should be refunded back to the petitioner. Page No.# 4/5 [3.] Mr. D Upamanyu, learned counsel for the Department submits that as per the instructions received by him, the Director, Higher Education, Assam has written to the Principal, Dhemaji Commerce College to take necessary action for refunding the said overdrawn amount which was already deducted from the Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity payable to the petitioner and therefore, he submits that in view of the said communication, necessary process is due to follow. [4.] It is, however, seen that the salary drawn by the employees are prepared by the Department and not by the College concerned and it is the Government including the Principal Accountant General and the Senior Accounts Officer from the Office of the Principal Accountant General who are the authorities to take necessary steps. [5.] Therefore, considering the fact that the respondents are also aware of the fact that deduction made should be refunded, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the Principal, Dhemaji Commerce College (respondent No. 6) to submit the proposal for refund of the deducted amount to the Director of Higher Education, Assam within a period of 2 (two) weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order and the Director of Higher Education on receipt of the proposal alongwith all the other respondents shall take necessary steps, as may be required. The entire process of refund should be completed within a period of 3 Page No.# 5/5 (three) months from the date of receipt of the proposal by the Director of Higher Education, Assam. [6.] The Communication dated 12.03.2024 produced by Mr. D Upamanyu shall be kept on record and marked as 'X' for identification.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/5 GAHC010053562023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/1384/2023o PURNIMAoSAIKIAo(KACHARI)o W/O-oLATEoRAMONIoMOHANoSAIKIA,o R/O-oVILLAGEoKULAPATHAR,o PANIGAON,oP.O.-oARADHAL,o DISTRICT-oDHEMAJI,oASSAM,o PIN-o787057. VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo5oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARY,o DEPARTMENToOFoHIGHERoEDUCATION,o GOVERNMENToOFoASSAM,o ASSAMoSECRETARIAT,o DISPUR,oGUWAHATI,oASSAM.o PIN-o781006. 2:THEoPRINCIPALoACCOUNTANToGENERALo(oAoANDoE) oASSAM oMAIDAMGAON oBELTOLA o GUWAHATI oASSAM o PIN-o781029. 3:SENIORoTREASURYoOFFICER oO/OoTHEoPRINCIPALoACCOUNTANToGENERALo(oAoANDoE) oASSAM o MAIDAMGAON Page No.# 2/5 BELTOLA GUWAHATI ASSAM PIN- 781029. 4:THE TREASURY OFFICER DHEMAJI DISTRICT- DHEMAJI ASSAM PIN- 787057. 5:THE DIRECTOR OF HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTORATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION ASSAM KAHILIPARA GUWAHATI ASSAM. PIN- 781019. 6:DHEMAJI COMMERCE COLLEGE REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL DISTRICT- DHEMAJI ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR S BORTHAKUR Advocate for the Respondent : SC, HIGHER EDU BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NELSON SAILO