PANAJI
The Goa Human Rights Commission has held that the State violated the human rights of a retired Goa Civil Service officer by withholding his pension for more than eight months while seeking to recover alleged excess salary paid during his service.
The Commission, in its inquiry report on Tuesday, ruled that the government cannot use its own administrative errors to deny post-retirement benefits.
The Accounts Department has been recommended for immediate release of pension and all retirement benefits to former Senior Scale Goa Civil Service officer Shripad Arlekar without deducting the alleged excess payment.
“The respondents’ (Directorate of Health Services (Administration) and Directorate of Accounts (Pension) action was 'arbitrary, inequitable, and unsustainable in law,” the Commission observed.
As per the case details, Arlekar retired on November 30, 2025, and his pay bills, as a gazetted officer, had been processed and cleared by the Directorate of Accounts throughout his service.
“Only after his retirement on 30/11/2025, he had received the revised pay statement dated 04/05/2026 from the Directorate of Accounts. For the last over 8 months, he has not been paid Pension nor even provisional pension, which is mandatory, under Rule 64 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972,” the report said, quoting the complaint filed.
Referring to Supreme Court rulings and government office memoranda governing recovery of excess payments from retired employees, the Commission concluded that the authorities had acted contrary to settled law.
It further held that the State could not shift the burden of its own administrative lapse onto a retired employee.
"The Respondents cannot be permitted to take advantage of their own administrative lapse to the prejudice of the Complainant. In the facts of the present case, the Respondents' action is arbitrary, inequitable, and unsustainable in law, while the applicable Office Memoranda unequivocally operate in favour of the Complainant," it observed.
Accordingly, the Commission recommended that the Directorate of Health Services and the Directorate of Accounts "shall forthwith release the pension and other post-retirement benefits due to the complainant with effect from 01/12/2025, based on the revised pay fixation statement... without any deductions towards the excess payment made to him prior to his retirement on 30/11/2025."
The Commission has directed both departments to submit their comments and the action taken on its recommendations within 30 days, on or before September 4.
