High Court · 2025

Mr. Adit ya Prat ap Singh, Advocat e for respondent nos. 2 & 3. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - H o n ’ b l e M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J. H o n ’ b l e Su b h a sh Up a d h y a y , J. ( Pe r : H o n ’ b l e M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) JUD GM EN T Pet it ioner was appoint ed as Assist ant Seeds Product ion Officer on 27.10.1981 and he ret ired from service as Deputy Chief Seeds Product ion Officer from Ut t arakhand Seeds and Tarai Developm ent Corporat ion, Pant nagar, Udham Singh Nagar, on 31.03.2017. His ret iral dues were not being released, t herefore, he filed Writ Pet it ion ( S/ B) No. 598 of 2018. A coordinat e Bench disposed of t he writ pet it ion vide order dat ed

17.12.2019, direct ing t he aut horit ies t o pay ret iral dues t o pet it ioner wit hin t hree m ont hs. Pursuant t o t he said order, ret iral dues were released t o t he pet it ioner, but , aft er deduct ing `58,750/ - from t he am ount payable as 1 leave encashm ent . Thus, feeling aggrieved, pet it ioner has approached t his Court , challenging t he recovery of `58,750/ - from his ret iral dues.

2. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner subm it s t hat neit her any not ice was issued nor any disciplinary enquiry was held against pet it ioner, before deduct ing t he aforesaid am ount . He subm it s t hat t here is no m at erial what soever t o form an opinion t hat pet it ioner is responsible for loss of any am ount . He furt her subm it s t hat no recovery order was passed and t he am ount has been sim ply deduct ed by respondent wit hout any aut horit y of law.

3. Mr. Adit ya Prat ap Singh, learned counsel appearing for Ut t arakhand Seeds Tarai Developm ent Corporat ion Lim it ed refers t o correspondence, which was m ade by t he Joint Chief Seeds Product ion Officer wit h pet it ioner, which are enclosed as Annexure Nos. 2 & 3 of t he count er affidavit .

4. Perusal of t he correspondence reveals t hat foundat ion seeds were dist ribut ed t o farm ers of Dist rict Aligarh and price of such seeds was yet t o be recovered and pet it ioner was sim ply asked t o do t he needful for recovery of price of seeds. I n none of t hose let t ers, pet it ioner was held liable for causing any loss t o t he Corporat ion or was asked t o deposit t he am ount from his own pocket .

5. Mr. Adit ya Prat ap Singh, learned counsel appearing for Ut t arakhand Seeds Tarai Developm ent Corporat ion Lim it ed fairly subm it s t hat 2 recovery was m ade from ret iral dues of pet it ioner wit hout t here being any show cause not ice or disciplinary enquiry held against him . He also concedes t hat no recovery order was passed. He, however, refers t o a not e- sheet , which is enclosed as Annexure No.- 4 t o t he count er affidavit , in which a decision was t aken on t he file t hat ret iral dues of pet it ioner m ay be released aft er deduct ing `58,750/ - .

6. The course of act ion adopt ed by respondent s cannot be sust ained in t he eyes of law. For m aking any recovery from t he ret iral dues of an em ployee, t here has t o be a finding t hat t he em ployee has caused loss t o t he Corporat ion and t hat loss has also t o be quant ified. I n t he present case, t here is no such finding and even order aut horizing recovery from t he ret iral dues, has also not been passed and com m unicat ed t o pet it ioner by t he com pet ent aut horit y.

7. Even ot herwise also, pet it ioner ret ired on

31.03.2017 and t he decision t o recover t he aforesaid am ount was t aken on 16.03.2020, as is reflect ed from t he not e- sheet enclosed as Annexure- 4 t o t he count er affidavit .

8. Since t he m ast er- servant relat ionship got severed upon superannuat ion of pet it ioner, t herefore, in t he absence of any enabling provision in t he rules, t o pass order of recovery against an em ployee, post ret irem ent , t he decision t o m ake recovery from t he ret iral dues payable t o pet it ioner was not proper. 3

9. For t he aforesaid reasons, t he writ pet it ion is allowed. The Managing Direct or, Ut t arakhand Seeds and Tarai Developm ent Corporat ion Lim it ed is direct ed t o refund t he am ount of `58,750/ - , deduct ed from t he ret iral dues of t he pet it ioner, wit h 5% sim ple int erest , wit hin six weeks from t he dat e of product ion of cert ified copy of t his order. ( Su b h a sh Up a d h y a y , J.) ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) 29.07.2025 Navin NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f487df00 6da82a131bb4e4403d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819DA8756 43AF56D653D095C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA 4