In Brief
Thomas Daniel joined service as a teacher in 1966 and was promoted to Headmaster in 1989 with revised pay. In 1997, the State of Kerala claimed he should not have received certain increments because his leave for post-graduation should not count towards service. After his retirement in 1999, the State attempted recovery from his gratuity. The Supreme Court held that recovery of excess payments made without employee misconduct or fraud is not permissible in equity, especially after substantial time has passed. The Court ruled that recovering increments ten years after retirement is unjustified and set aside all recovery proceedings, allowing the appeal.
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