Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday took a tough stand on the pending payment of dearness allowance (DA) to Punjab government employees and pensioners. The court imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on the Chief Secretary of the Punjab government for non-compliance with its orders. The Chief Secretary was also directed to file a personal affidavit explaining why the court’s orders have not been implemented yet.
The hearing was held on a contempt petition filed by Nirmal Singh Dhillon, a retired Chief Engineer of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). The petition raised the issue of alleged non-compliance of the High Court’s directives regarding dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR).
Allegations of delay against the government
The lawyer representing the employees argued before a bench of Justice Harsh Bungar that the Punjab government was adopting delaying tactics to avoid implementing the High Court’s orders.
The lawyer also pointed out that the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the state government in the Supreme Court has been pending in the list of defective petitions for more than two months.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the High Court expressed displeasure over the non-compliance of the orders and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on the Chief Secretary of Punjab.
Questions also raised regarding officers’ allowances
During the hearing, the High Court questioned the government as to why the DA and DR benefits of senior government officials were not similarly stopped when the employees’ DA and DR benefits were stopped.
The court directed the Chief Secretary to file a personal affidavit explaining the reason for the delay in complying with the orders.
Order to appear in person on November 3
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Chief Secretary of Punjab to appear in person at the next hearing. The next hearing in the case will be on November 3, 2026.
This matter is related to the payment of pending dearness allowance and dearness relief to the employees and pensioners of the Punjab Government.