Tell banks not to fix ‘clerical errors’ with pensioners’ money without their consent, HC tells RBI

Gurugram: In an important verdict to protect the rights of retired government employees, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that pension authorities cannot arbitrarily recover alleged excess payments without explicit consent from the pensioner.

In a petition where it was alleged that the Punjab National Bank debited Rs 6.63 lakh from the bank account of a Haryana civil pensioner, a former executive officer at the Municipal Corporation, Kaithal, citing “excess pension”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Reserve Bank of India to issue instructions to all agency banks stipulating that no recovery of excess pension may be made without the pensioner’s knowledge, consent or prior notice, and that any such recovery must strictly conform to the governing service rules.