E-Paper
DA case: Punjab seeks time from HC to file compliance report
The request was made before the bench of justice Harsh Bunger, hearing a petition filed by four retired employees of Punjab alleging contempt of court by the state government by not releasing DA within the timeframe prescribed by the high court
The Punjab government on Friday sought time from the Punjab and Haryana high court to file a compliance report in respect of the August 3 order on release of the Dearness Allowance (DA) within a fortnight to the employees and pensioners of the state.
The request was made before the bench of justice Harsh Bunger, hearing a petition filed by four retired employees of Punjab alleging contempt of court by the state government by not releasing DA within the timeframe prescribed by the high court.
On August 3, a division bench of high court had directed the Punjab government to release all up-to-date pending instalments of DA, estimated at over ₹14,000 crore, to all its employees and pensioners at the rates paid to the members of the All India Services (IAS/IPS/IFS) officers serving in the state on the central government pattern within a fortnight.
The court had also ordered that till all such dues were cleared, the government would not “resort to any unproductive expenditures”, such as large-scale advertising campaigns in print or social media, as these expenses cannot justify the denial of dues admissible to state employees.
In case of default, the unpaid amounts would carry 6% interest per annum. The chief secretary was also asked to ensure scrupulous compliance and file an affidavit about it by August 31.
During the hearing on Friday, the state’s counsel claimed that as per the high court order, the government had time till August 31 to comply with the order and file a compliance report. Hence, the government be given time for the same.
Taking note of the submissions, the court deferred the hearing to September 27 while recording, “Learned state counsel seeks short accommodation to file status report and/or the compliance report in the matter.”
The petition by Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and others had demanded action against chief secretary KAP Sinha, additional chief secretary (finance) Alok Shekhar; Punjab State Power Corporation Limited chairman-cum-managing director Basant Garg and under secretary (finance) Saroj for violating the court order.
The petition had said it was a “wilful, deliberate and intentional” violation of the August 3 order by the state government as instead of complying with the order, a communication was issued by the finance department to all secretaries stating that no such orders may be implemented without prior concurrence of the department.
The August 3 order had come on a challenge laid by the state government and PSPCL against the April 8 order of a single-judge bench in which a June 30 deadline was set for the DA release. The single-judge bench had passed these directions acting on a clutch of petitions from employees and pensioners seeking court’s intervention on delay in disbursal of DA as per 6th Punjab Pay Commission recommendations.
Notably, the employees have also moved a caveat before the Supreme Court with a request that in the event of state’s appeal against the high court order of August 3, they be heard before passing an order.
