New Delhi, May 28: The Delhi High Court has intervened to stop the State Bank of India (SBI) from recovering an allegedly overpaid family pension from a widow. The court ruled that the excess payment resulted from a bank error during pension processing, not due to any misinformation or concealment by the woman.
Justice Sanjeev Narula accepted the petition of a woman named Indira, directing SBI to refund the deducted amount from her family pension along with 6% annual interest. The court also prohibited the bank from making any further recoveries in the future.
The petitioner’s husband worked as an upper division clerk in the election department at the SDM office in Southwest Delhi and passed away in June 2003 while in service. Following his death, the Delhi government issued a pension payment order, approving the family pension, which was disbursed through SBI’s Kapashera branch.
Later, the woman noticed significant deductions from her monthly pension. The bank informed her that a ‘wrong enhance date’ in the pension records led to an alleged overpayment of over ₹2.51 lakh. Subsequently, SBI recalculated the supposed excess payment, which amounted to around ₹3.60 lakh, and began deducting this amount from her monthly pension.
Challenging the recovery, the petitioner argued that she had neither provided false information nor played any role in the excess payment. She also stated that the deductions began unilaterally and without prior notice.
The Delhi High Court noted that the bank’s records clearly indicated that the overpayment was due to an error in pension processing, not due to any fraudulent actions by the petitioner. Justice Narula emphasized, “There is no evidence in the records to prove that the petitioner knew, or should have known, that she was receiving more than her legal entitlement.”
The judge further stated that the petitioner is a widow receiving a family pension and had no role in the technical processes related to software or dates. Therefore, it was unreasonable to expect her to understand the bank’s internal calculation errors.
Citing previous Supreme Court rulings on the recovery of excess payments from pensioners, the Delhi High Court stated that this case falls within the “protective umbrella” established by the Supreme Court, which aims to prevent undue hardship to retired employees or pensioners.
Justice Narula criticized SBI for starting deductions without providing the petitioner with complete details of the alleged overpayment and the recovery method. The ruling stated, “Deductions from the pension without prior notice and without explaining the reasons and methods are against basic fairness.”
The court also dismissed SBI’s argument that referenced a bond signed by the petitioner in 2004, which allowed for the adjustment of excess payments. The court clarified that this was a standard document taken during the pension process, and it could not justify strict recovery actions against pensioners.
The ruling concluded with Justice Narula directing SBI to refund the entire deducted amount within eight weeks, along with 6% simple interest from the date of each deduction until the payment date.
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