IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.15968 of 2006 Ganesh Chandra Verma, son of late Bal Krishna Verma, resident of Mohalla Tatwa Toli, P.S. K.Hat, District Purnea. ---------- Petitioner Versus 1. The State of Bihar. 2. The Secretary cum Commissioner, Dept. of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Bihar, Patna. 3. Director-in-Chief, Health Director, Bihar, Patna. 4. Treasury Officer, Purena. 5. Sri Sita Ram Choudhary, S/o not known, Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, Purnea. -------- Respondents ----------- 3 18.7.2011 No one appears on behalf of the petitioner. In this writ application, the petitioner has assailed the correctness of the order contained in Memo No. 884 dated 1.4.2006 (Annexure-12) on the ground that his pay-scale, after his retirement, was reduced from 5,000-8,000/- to Rs. 4,500-7,000/- without affording any opportunity of hearing. It appears that the impugned order dated 1.4.2006 was passed pursuant to some audit objection in course of verification of the pay-scale of the petitioner. Such pay of the petitioner was fixed by his controlling authority vide order dated 14.8.2001, while he was continuing in service. The respondents, if therefore had 2 any reason to cancel the said order dated 14.8.2001, which had essentially the impact of also making recovery of Rs. 9,607/- as is shown in the impugned order apart from reducing the petitioner in the matter of grant of pay-scale from 5,000-8,000/- to 4,500-7,000/-, he was definitely required to be given notice and also extended an opportunity of hearing. Admittedly, that has not been done in the case of the petitioner and he was subjected to both recovery as also reduction of his pay-scale without complying the principles of natural justice. It is also well settled that a person who has been paid his salary in a higher pay-scale, even though he may not be entitled to it but if the same has been done without fraud or misrepresentation on his part, he would not be subjected to recovery of the said amount. In that view of the matter, while this Court would direct the Respondents to refund Rs. 9,607/- already recovered from the payable amount of the petitioner, the rest of the aspect as to whether the petitioner’s 3 salary was fixed in the year 2001 correctly in the pay-scale of Rs. 5,000-8,000/- or that the petitioner was entitled only to pay-scale of Rs. 4,500-7,000/-, would be gone into again by the Civil Surgeon of the Purnea district after giving notice and/or opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. It is, however, made clear that till a final decision in the manner indicated above is taken, the petitioner will not be entitled for any further financial benefit on the basis of higher pay-scale of Rs. 5,000- 8,000/- but at the same time he will also not be subjected to any further recovery. The amount already recovered from him to the tune of Rs. 9,607/- must be refunded to him within a period of three months from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order. With the aforementioned observations and direction, this application is disposed of. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)