HC orders withholding of salary of Haryana bureaucrat

As per lawyer Sardawinder Goyal, the plea was from one Chhbeel Kumar, whose wife, a teacher, had died in December 2023

The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered withholding of salary of a top Haryana bureaucrat for three months in the case of alleged delay of compassionate financial assistance of a Kurukshetra resident.

To the stand of the state of financial and budgetary constraints the court said that such constraints cannot be permitted to prejudice the lawful entitlement of a citizen. (HT Photo for representation)

“Being conscious of the fact that the burden occasioned by administrative delay does not ultimately fall upon the public exchequer, this court considers it necessary to ensure institutional accountability. Accordingly, it is directed that the salary of the finance secretary, department of education, Haryana shall remain withheld for a period of three months,” the bench of justice Sandeep Moudgil said.

As per lawyer Sardawinder Goyal, the plea was from one Chhbeel Kumar, whose wife, a teacher, had died in December 2023. The compassionate financial assistance was approved in February 2025. However, he was not even given an ex-gratia of ₹1 lakh approved at the time of death.

He had approached the HC in October 2025, demanding all arrear of assistance and sanctioned amount of ₹1 lakh approved be released. The court observed that delay in disbursement of ex-gratia compassionate assistance defeats the very purpose, of which, such relief is granted when payment is unjustifiably withheld for a prolonged period, the beneficiaries are deprived of the timely relief intended by the policy, causing undue hardship.

To the stand of the state of financial and budgetary constraints the court said that such constraints cannot be permitted to prejudice the lawful entitlement of a citizen. The court expressed its disapproval of such a justification and said that “administrative or fiscal limitation cannot be permitted to defeat or indefinitely defer the legitimate entitlement of a citizen, especially in respect of a payment which is in the nature of ex-gratia assistance, which ought to have been disbursed with reasonable promptitude,” it said directing that amount due be released within two weeks with 6% interest from the time it was due.