A Delhi widow who depended on her family pension for survival has received relief from the Delhi High Court after years of deductions linked to a banking error. The court ordered State Bank of India (SBI) to return the money already recovered from her pension with 6% annual interest and stop any further deductions, observing that the woman was never responsible for the alleged excess payment, a TOI report stated.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Indra, whose monthly pension had suddenly shrunk after the bank claimed she had received extra money due to an internal mistake in pension records.
Pension reduced without warning
Indra’s husband, a government employee, died while still in service in 2003. Following his death, the Delhi government approved a family pension for her through a pension payment order, and the amount was routed through an SBI branch.
For years, the pension came regularly. But later, the widow noticed a sharp fall in the amount credited to her account every month. She was then informed that an “enhance date” had allegedly been entered incorrectly in the pension system, leading to excess payment.
Initially, the bank claimed that more than Rs 2.5 lakh had been overpaid. Later, SBI revised the figure and calculated the alleged excess amount at nearly Rs 3.6 lakh.
Soon after, monthly recoveries began from her pension.
Widow moves court over recovery
The woman challenged the deductions in court, arguing that she had never submitted false information and had no role in calculating or processing the pension amount. She also said the recoveries started without any prior notice or explanation from the bank.
Her plea highlighted that the pension amount was fixed and processed by authorities and the bank itself, leaving her with no control over software entries or payment calculations.
The High Court agreed with her arguments.
Court questions SBI’s action
While granting relief, the court noted that the pensioner could not have been expected to identify technical mistakes made within the banking system.
“There is nothing on record to suggest that the petitioner knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that she was receiving amounts beyond her lawful entitlement.”
The court further observed that the petitioner had “no role in configuring the software or dates” and said she could not reasonably be expected to detect errors in the bank’s internal calculations.
The judge also criticised SBI for beginning recoveries without properly informing the woman about the details of the alleged excess payment or the manner in which the money would be recovered.
Relief for pensioners facing recovery disputes
The ruling is being seen as significant for pensioners, especially widows and retired employees who often depend entirely on monthly pension payments for daily expenses.
The court’s decision underlined that recoveries cannot be imposed on pensioners when overpayments happen because of administrative or technical mistakes made by authorities or banks themselves.
