The Rajasthan High Court has cancelled an order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that had stopped the State Bank of India (SBI) from recovering an additional pension payment. The decision was made by a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court, consisting of Senior Judge Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Judge Munnuri Laxman.
The case revolves around a pension payment error made by the bank. Advocate Mukul Singhvi, representing SBI, argued that the wife of an All India Radio employee was entitled to an increased pension only until May 2012. However, due to a mistake on the bank’s part, the additional pension was paid until April 2015. As a result, SBI began monthly deductions to recover the excess amount of Rs 2.85 lakh that had been mistakenly paid.
The petitioner had challenged the recovery process in CAT, and the tribunal had temporarily halted the recovery. However, SBI argued that since the bank acts as an agent in managing pension payments, it was justified in recovering the excess pension paid. After reviewing the case, the High Court ruled in favor of the bank, cancelling the CAT’s order and allowing SBI to proceed with the recovery.
