GEETA DEVI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) O. A. Application of all these petitioners, numbering 48, against the decision of the Respondent - Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute" for short) to effect recovery from their salary of what was paid to them for a long period of time, known as Hospital Patient Care Allowance / Patient Care Allowance, has been dismissed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Patna Bench, Patna, vide order, dated 11.07.2017. The order has been passed in O. A. No. 288 of 2017.

(2.) The brief facts without any controversy is that a large number of these Class-III and Class-IV employees, working in the Institute, have been extended the benefit of Patient Care Allowance from the year 2008. These grant of allowance has become the bone of contention in the year 2017, when a so called audit objection has been raised with regard to the kind of people who are entitled to draw the Patient Care Allowance. Based on the audit objection, decision for recovery was effected and therefore these petitioners rushed to the Central Administrative Tribunal, looking for protection. The Tribunal has gone by the principle that no employee can retain what he is not entitled to and since it is clear now that the Patient Care Allowance is not payable to a set of employees, who are not directly involved with that kind of duty, the order of recovery even in the face of the Supreme Court Judgement, rendered in the case of State of Punjab & Ors. Vs. Rafiq Masih (White Washer) etc., reported in (2015) 4 SCC 334, does not come to the rescue of these petitioners.

(3.) Learned counsel for these petitioners is not getting into the argument with regard to the entitlement. The submission is that even within the organization of the respondents, there have been complete confusion with regard to the entitlement. It has been authorized, then stopped, then again restored, then again allowed to new set of employees and the employees working on different posts have drawn the advantage of the decision of the Institute to extend them the benefit of Patient Care Allowance. The Bulk of these petitioners are beneficiaries after the year 2013.