Satyendra Narayan Singh vs The State Of Jharkhand
2025 Latest Caselaw 7466 Jhar

Jharkhand High Court

Satyendra Narayan Singh vs The State Of Jharkhand on 3 December, 2025

Author: Ananda Sen

Bench: Ananda Sen

                                                           2025:JHHC:36153


             IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
                            WP(S) No.5719 of 2024
                                          -----
             Satyendra Narayan Singh, son of late Haridwar Singh, resident
             of Quarter No. 785/149-B, Bokaro Steel City, Sector-IX, PO
             Bokaro, PS Bokaro, District Bokaro, State-Jharkhand
                                                           ... Petitioner(s).
                                   Versus
             1.The State of Jharkhand
             2.The Director General of Police, Police Head Quarter,
             Jharkhand, Ranchi, office at Project Building, PO Dhurwa, PS
             Dhurwa, District Ranchi
             3.The Inspector General of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau,
             Kanke Road, PO GPO, PS Gonda, District Ranchi
             4.The Superintendent of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kanke
             Road, PO GPO, PS Gonda, District Ranchi ... Respondent(s).

             CORAM      :      SRI ANANDA SEN, J.

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For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. D. K. Dubey, Advocate For the State : Mr. Ayush Deb, AC to GP-VI .........

04 /03.12.2025: Heard the parties.

2. The petitioner was appointed as Sub-Inspector of Police. After serving the department, he ultimately superannuated from service w.e.f. 31.01.2024. While he was posted at Jamtara, he filed an application to fix his pay as per the particular scale which according to the petitioner, he was entitled to.

3. Taking cognizance of the representation of the petitioner the respondent-authorities fixed the pay of the petitioner and the salary of the petitioner was paid accordingly. Within one year before superannuation the respondents detected that the pay which was fixed was not correct and thus, started recovering the amount of Rs. 2,06,488/- in instalments from May 2023 to December 2023. The petitioner has thus challenged the said recovery.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner refers to Resolution of the State of Jharkhand dated 08.11.2018 whereby the State has taken a decision that no recovery will be made from the salary of an employee who is supposed to retire within a year. Further it was

2025:JHHC:36153

decided that excess payment will not be recovered from the employees belonging to Class-III and Class-IV services. Admittedly the petitioner is in Class-III service and his date of superannuation was 31.01.2024 and the recovery was made from May 2023 to December 2023 which is within one year from the date of his superannuation. The aforesaid Resolution was passed taking into considering the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of "State of Punjab and Others vs. Rafiq Masih (While Washer) and Others" reported in (2015) 4 SCC 334.

5. While going through the records, I find that there is nothing on record to suggest that the petitioner was responsible for the said fixing of the pay-scale. The petitioner only had made a representation bonafidely believing that the scale which the petitioner was given should be granted to him. Later on, it was found that the petitioner was not entitled for the said pay-scale. Admittedly the petitioner was not the person who has fixed his own pay-scale rather it was done by the higher authorities. If at all the petitioner was not entitled for the claimed pay scale, it was the higher authorities who could have rejected the application immediately, which infact they have not done.

6. Thus, I am inclined to allow this writ petition directing the respondents to refund the amount of Rs. 2,06,488/- to the petitioner. It is made clear that his retiral benefit should be calculated in terms of the actual pay-scale which the petitioner was legally entitled to and not on the basis of the enhanced pay-scale. The amount should be refunded within four weeks from the date of the receipt of the copy of this order.

(ANANDA SEN, J.) 03.12.2025 Tanuj/CP-2

Uploaded on 06.12.2025