Punjab DA case: High Court issues notice to state in criminal contempt matter over Chief Secretary’s affidavit
PTC Web Desk: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice to the Punjab Government in the case of unpaid Dearness Allowance (DA) to state employees. The notice is linked to an affidavit filed by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha. The court has said the affidavit contained wrong information and has started criminal contempt proceedings. Before going further, it has asked the government to respond.
Chief Secretary appears by video link
KAP Sinha appeared before the court through video conference. Justice Vinod Bhardwaj asked him about the Special Leave Petition (SLP) the state had filed in the Supreme Court. Sinha said he would have to check with the advocate concerned and would then file an affidavit on the current status of the petition.
He also asked for time to reply to the criminal contempt action against him.
Advocate Chetan Mittal, appearing for the employees, told the court that around 8 lakh employees and pensioners are still waiting for their DA arrears.
Reply due by October 30
The court directed the state to file its reply on or before October 30. It also appointed senior advocate RS Cheema as amicus curiae, who will assist the court on technical aspects of the case. The next hearing is on October 30.
At the last hearing, the Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra had moved the matter from regular contempt to criminal contempt.
What happened at the last hearing
Senior advocate Sanjay Kaushal, for the employees, said the state had appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order on DA arrears, but the appeal had not yet been listed for hearing.
Kaushal pointed out that in a matter linked to the Enforcement Directorate, the state had filed an appeal quickly and got a hearing date. He called this a double standard and asked why a case involving lakhs of employees was being delayed.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, for the Punjab government, said the DA dues do not relate to the present government’s tenure but to earlier governments. The High Court responded that it had examined the full record before giving its decision.
The court said the government has every right to appeal to the Supreme Court. But once an appeal is filed, giving wrong information to the court cannot be accepted.
The court also asked why the defects in the Supreme Court appeal had still not been fixed. It said the criminal contempt matter would be heard by the relevant bench as per the roster.
The timeline of the case
April 8, 2026: The High Court began detailed hearings on employees’ petitions. These challenged the Punjab Government’s policy of holding back DA increases in line with the Central pattern.
August 3, 2026: A Division Bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor gave its judgment. It rejected the government’s argument about financial difficulty and ordered that the arrears of about 8 lakh employees and pensioners be released within 15 days. The court also barred the government from issuing large-scale advertisements in print or on social media until the dues were paid.
August 31, 2026: The final deadline for the Chief Secretary to file a compliance affidavit ended. The government did not make the payment.
September 1, 2026: The state moved the Supreme Court by filing an SLP against the High Court’s order.
September 10, 2026: The High Court again asked for a reply on non-compliance. The state said the matter was already in the Supreme Court. The High Court gave it 10 days to fix the defects in the appeal.
October 1, 2026: According to the Advocate General and the Chief Secretary, the defects were removed and the appeal was filed again in the Supreme Court registry.
October 6, 2026: The High Court sought a status report from the Supreme Court registry. It showed that the state’s appeal was still stuck because of defects and was not fit for listing. The court treated this as misleading it and issued a criminal contempt show-cause notice to Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, ordering him to appear in person on October 9.
October 9, 2026: The Chief Secretary appeared in person. His counsel offered an unconditional apology. The Chief Justice’s bench described the state’s conduct as deeply painful, declined to accept the apology and transferred the matter to the roster division bench that hears criminal contempt cases.
The matter will now be heard again on October 30.
Also Read | Punjab DA arrears not released despite High Court orders; contempt notices issued to to Chief Secy, Finance Secy
- PTC NEWS
