Punjab govt issues apology in high court in DA case for submitting incorrect information
Chief Secretary KAP Sinha had earlier informed the High Court that the state government had corrected certain defects in its appeal before the Supreme Court in the DA case.
PTC News Desk: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday heard a case concerning Dearness Allowance (DA) for Punjab government employees. During the hearing, the Punjab government apologised for providing incorrect information to the court through the Chief Secretary.
Chief Secretary KAP Sinha had earlier informed the High Court that the state government had corrected certain defects in its appeal before the Supreme Court in the DA case. However, the information was later found to be incorrect. Sinha appeared before the High Court again on Friday during the hearing.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Kaushal, representing the employees, told the court that the Punjab government’s appeal against the High Court’s decision in the DA case had still not been listed for hearing in the Supreme Court.
He pointed out that the government’s appeal against the High Court’s order in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case had been filed on the same day and was scheduled for hearing on Friday.
Kaushal argued that the government was not providing relief to its employees but was acting quickly to protect officials facing allegations in the ED case. He said this raised questions about the government’s intentions.
Allegations of spending crores on ads
Kaushal also alleged that the state government was spending crores of rupees on advertisements in different states despite a High Court restriction. He requested the court to summon records to determine how much money the government was spending on publicity.
Appearing for the state government, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh argued that the pending DA arrears were the responsibility of previous governments and not the present administration.
'Incorrect information cannot be tolerated'
The High Court said its earlier decision had been delivered after examining the entire record.
The court observed that the state government had every right to challenge its decision in the Supreme Court. However, it said the government’s failure to correct defects in its appeal, along with the submission of incorrect information to the High Court, could not be tolerated. The court said this had led to the issuance of a contempt notice.
The bench made it clear that the government was free to approach the Supreme Court but must not provide incorrect information to the High Court. Kaushal questioned why the government had not secured a hearing in the Supreme Court for the case involving lakhs of government employees, while acting swiftly to challenge the High Court’s order in a case involving a few officials.
Amid the High Court’s strong observations, Vikas Singh tendered an unconditional apology on behalf of Chief Secretary KAP Sinha.
The High Court said the criminal contempt matter would be assigned, under the court’s roster, to the bench that deals with criminal contempt cases.
The matter is now scheduled to be heard on Monday.