Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:4591 Court No. - 7 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 20710 of 2024 Petitioner :- Raj Narayan Singh Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Mahesh Kumar,Sanjeev Singh,Shri Kant Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Prakash Padia,J. 1. Heard Sri Sanjeev Singh, learned counsel for petitioner and Sri Gaurav Singh, learned Standing Counsel for State-respondents. 2. Present petition has been filed seeking following reliefs:- "(a) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari calling for the records and quashing the impugned order dated 20.05.2023 and the order of recovery of alleged excess amount dated 23.11.2024 both passed by respondent no. 4- District Panchayat Raj Officer, Badaun" 3. At the very outset, learned counsel for petitioner submitted that he does not want to press the impugned order dated 20.05.2023, which relates to re-fixation of pay scale. 4. Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that petitioner was appointed on the post of Gram Panchayat Adhikari on 26.04.1999. It is next submitted that interim pay scale was fixed in the year 2013 and impugned order dated 23.11.2024 has been passed to recover Rs. 7,83,962/- from petitioner. Lastly, it is submitted that in light of para 12(iii) of judgement of Apex Court in the matter of State of Punjab and others Vs. Rafiq Masih: 2015 (4) SCC 334, no recovery can be made from Class-III & Class-IV employees when excess payment has been made due to wrong fixation of pay scale after five years in case petitioner is not responsible for the same. Therefore, impugned order dated 23.11.2024 is bad and liable to be set aside. 5. Sri Gaurav Singh, learned Standing Counsel for State-respondents could not dispute the aforesaid submissions. 6. I have considered the rival submissions advanced by the learned counsel for the parties and perused the records as well as impugned order. Apex Court in the case of Rafiq Masih (Supra) while dealing with such dispute, had framed following guidelines:- "12. It is not possible to postulate all situations of hardship, which would govern employees on the issue of recovery, where payments have mistakenly been made by the employer, in excess of their entitlement. Be that as it may, based on the decisions referred to herein above, we may, as a ready reference, summarize the following few situations, wherein recoveries by the employers, would be impermissible in law: i) Recovery from employees belonging to Class-III and Class-IV service (or Group 'C' and Group 'D' service). (ii) Recovery from retired employees, or employees who are due to retire within one year, of the order of recovery. (iii) Recovery from employees, when the excess payment has been made for a period in excess of five years, before the order of recovery is issued. (iv) Recovery in cases where an employee has wrongfully been required to discharge duties of a higher post, and has been paid accordingly, even though he should have rightfully been required to work against an inferior post. (v) In any other case, where the Court arrives at the conclusion, that recovery if made from the employee, would be iniquitous or harsh or arbitrary to such an extent, as would far outweigh the equitable balance of the employer's right to recover." 7. Undisputedly, case of petitioner is squarely covered with the judgement of Rafiq Masih (supra) as in the present case too, petitioner is not responsible for fixation of incorrect pay scale and consequently for excess payment. 8. Therefore, under such facts and circumstances of the case, the impugned order dated 23.11.2024 is hereby quashed. 9. With the aforesaid observations, writ petition is accordingly allowed. 10. However, respondents are at liberty to file a recall application if this order is obtained by the petitioner by concealing material fact. 11. Liberty is also given to State-authorities to conduct inquiry in the matter and to fix the responsibility for excess payment and recover the same from the Officers/employees, who are responsible for the same. Order Date :- 9.1.2025 saqlain Digitally signed by :- SYED MOHAMMAD SAQLAIN HAIDER High Court of Judicature at Allahabad