Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has ruled that a retired Goa Civil Service (GCS) officer’s human rights were infringed after the government withheld his pension and retirement benefits for more than eight months while attempting to recover an alleged excess salary paid during his service.
In its inquiry report, the Commission held that government departments cannot deny or delay pensionary benefits because of administrative lapses on their part. It recommended that former Senior Scale GCS officer Shripad Arlekar be paid his pension and all retirement dues immediately without any recovery of the disputed amount.
The case arose after Arlekar, who retired on November 30, 2025, complained that despite completing all retirement formalities, he had not received either his regular pension or even provisional pension. During his service, his salary had been processed and approved by the Directorate of Accounts, but a revised pay fixation statement was issued only after his retirement.
The Commission observed that withholding pension in such circumstances was unjustified, particularly when the alleged overpayment resulted from actions taken by the authorities themselves.
Referring to settled legal principles laid down by the Supreme Court and existing government guidelines on recovery of excess payments from retired employees, the GHRC concluded that the State could not transfer the consequences of its own errors to a retired public servant.
It noted that the actions of the Directorate of Health Services (Administration) and the Directorate of Accounts (Pension) were arbitrary and legally untenable, adding that pension is a statutory entitlement and cannot be withheld without following due process.
The Commission has recommended that the authorities release Arlekar’s pension and all post-retirement benefits with effect from December 1, 2025, based on the revised pay fixation, without deducting the alleged excess salary.
The Directorate of Health Services and the Directorate of Accounts have been asked to submit their response and an action taken report on the Commission’s recommendations within 30 days, on or before September 4.
