Contempt notice issued to Punjab Chief Secretary in DA arrears case, High Court seeks response by November 17

November 3, 2026

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a contempt notice to Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha in a case related to the pending payment of dearness allowance (DA). The court directed the state government to file its response by November 17. The government has already been fined in this matter.

At the next hearing, the government will have to explain why the High Court’s orders regarding the payment of dearness allowance have not been complied with. The court stated that the government has not yet provided a satisfactory reason for the non-compliance.

High Court also seeks response on pending appeal in the Supreme Court

During the hearing, the High Court questioned why the matter was pending in the Supreme Court. Chief Secretary KAP Sinha informed the court that all deficiencies in the appeal filed in the Supreme Court have been addressed and a hearing is expected next week.

However, the High Court stated that the government has yet to explain why its orders were not complied with. The court, regarding the matter as contempt, issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, directing him to respond by November 17th.

₹32,418 Crore Due to Employees and Pensioners

During an earlier hearing, the Chief Secretary had informed the High Court that the government owed a total of ₹32,418 crore to employees and pensioners.

According to the government, approximately ₹22,818 crore to ₹22,828 crore of this total outstanding amount is due to dearness allowance (DA) arrears. This arrears pertain to the period from July 1, 2021, to September 30, 2026.

The Chief Secretary provided this information to the court during the hearing of the ongoing case regarding the payment of DA arrears. Now, the High Court has sought an explanation from the government for the non-compliance of its orders.