HC quashes nurse pay recovery order, directs refund

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday struck down a govt order on salary re-determination for staff nurses, ruling it contrary to established rules.A single bench of Senior Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari was hearing petitions filed by serving and retired nurses challenging the health department’s directive to recover upgraded salaries granted earlier, following a retrospective revision of pay scales.The court ordered that recovered amounts be refunded within six months and directed the govt to resolve pending salary-related issues within three months.Petitioners, including Sunita Singh, argued that their original pay scale of ₹5,000–₹8,000 was correctly fixed at the time of appointment. In 2011, the state had upgraded their salaries, but later issued another order re-determining pay and seeking recovery of the earlier benefits.The HC upheld the nurses’ contention, stressing that retrospective recovery was unjustified.