THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) on Thursday directed the Department of Drinking Water to refund Rs 3.68 lakh with interest to a retired Group C employee, holding that recovering excess salary paid due to an official error from his gratuity violated his human rights.
The Commission of Members Desmond D’Costa and Pramod Kamat ruled that the recovery of Rs 3,68,729 from the gratuity of retired electrician Sainath Manguexa Sinai Pausso was illegal as the excess payment arose from an incorrect pay fixation by the department and not because of any fraud or misrepresentation on his part.
“The Respondent could not have recovered the amount of Rs 3,68,729/- from his retirement gratuity after his retirement on 31/08/2025, as the excess payment was not due to any mistake of the Complainant. It is not the case of the Respondent that the excess payment was due to any misrepresentation by the Complainant,” the Commission observed in its inquiry report.
The case arose after the department’s work division in Fatorda recovered the amount from Pausso's retirement gratuity, contending that he had received excess payments due to an incorrect pay fixation dating back to March 28, 1996. The employee retired on August 31, 2025, but the recovery was effected after his retirement despite the alleged excess payments spanning more than 29 years.
During the proceedings, the department argued that the retired employee had signed an undertaking authorising recovery of any excess payments arising from incorrect pay fixation. The Commission, however, held that such consent could not override the legal protections available under Supreme Court and Bombay High Court rulings.
“The recovery ... 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 and the recovery violates his human rights. The Undertaking/Consent obtained from the Complainant cannot deprive him of his rights arising from the law laid down in the earlier referred Judgments,” the Commission said.
As such, it recommended that the department refund the recovered gratuity of Rs 3,68,729 within 60 days along with interest at 6 percent per annum from September 1, 2025, till the date of payment.
Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, the department has also been asked to submit its comments and the action taken report to the Commission within the stipulated period.
