The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a formal notice to the Punjab Government in a criminal contempt matter concerning the release of pending Dearness Allowance (DA) for serving employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners. The state government has been directed to file its reply by October 30, when the matter will be heard next.
The development comes more than two months after the High Court upheld directions requiring Punjab to release the pending DA and DR instalments in line with the rates paid to members of the All India Services serving in the state, following the Central Government pattern.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj and Justice Ravinder Malik issued the notice on Monday. The Bench also appointed senior advocate RS Cheema as amicus curiae, meaning a lawyer appointed by the court to assist it in examining the matter.
The Bench observed that the earlier decision to refer the matter to the Bench dealing with criminal contempt indicated that the government's arguments and documents had already received preliminary consideration.
During the hearing, senior advocates Sanjay Kaushal and Chetan Mittal, appearing for the applicant-employees, alleged that the state government was attempting to delay the proceedings until the model code of conduct came into force ahead of the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
They told the court that approximately 7.5 lakh employees were affected by the dispute over DA and DR payments.
The applicants' counsel also alleged that the Punjab Government had issued advertisements in 28 newspapers despite a restraint on such advertisements until compliance with the court's order on DA payments.
They further brought to the court's attention a letter issued by the Finance Department, which, according to their submissions, stated that no High Court order should be implemented without the department's permission.
These were allegations made by the applicants' side during the proceedings. The court's final determination on the contempt allegations is awaited.
Punjab was represented by senior advocates Vikas Singh and Chanchal K Singla, along with advocate Ferry Sofat. Advocates Gagneshwar Walia and Hargun Sethi assisted the applicants' counsel.
The case reached the criminal contempt jurisdiction after an earlier Division Bench raised concerns about statements made in an affidavit submitted by Punjab's Chief Secretary.
Before referring the matter, the Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor had observed that the court was duty-bound to ensure that its authority and dignity were not compromised.
The Bench said allegations and suggestions questioning the propriety of court proceedings needed to be dealt with carefully. It subsequently directed that the matter be placed before the Bench authorised to hear criminal contempt cases, following the necessary administrative orders.
The proceedings also involve the Chief Secretary's statement regarding the status of special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the Punjab Government before the Supreme Court.
According to the earlier proceedings, the Chief Secretary had informed the High Court that defects in the SLPs had been rectified and that the petitions challenging the High Court's orders had been re-filed.
However, the other side disputed this claim. After examining a report from the Supreme Court registry concerning the status of the two SLPs, the High Court had prima facie found the statement in the affidavit to be "palpably false".
The court had then issued notice to the Chief Secretary, asking him to explain why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for allegedly misleading the court.
Appearing for the state, senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted that there was no deliberate intention on the Chief Secretary's part to make a false statement about the removal of defects in the SLPs. He also said the Chief Secretary was willing to tender an unconditional apology if the court considered it appropriate.
The applicants' counsel opposed the offer, arguing that an apology should not be considered in view of what they described as deliberate and contemptuous conduct by the state.
The matter originates from a common judgment delivered by the High Court on April 8, directing Punjab to release DA to serving employees and DR to pensioners at the same rates as those applicable to members of the All India Services serving in Punjab, in accordance with the Central Government pattern.
The court initially directed the state to comply by June 30 and required the Chief Secretary to submit an affidavit confirming compliance.
The Punjab Government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) subsequently challenged the directions through appeals.
On August 3, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor dismissed the appeals and upheld the directions issued by the Single Judge. Since the original deadline had expired while the appeals were pending, the court modified the implementation timeline and directed the release of pending DA and DR instalments within a fortnight.
The latest criminal contempt proceedings concern allegations surrounding the state's compliance with the court's directions and statements made during the related litigation.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the matter again on October 30, after the Punjab Government submits its reply. The contempt allegations remain subject to the court's further proceedings and determination.
