Court issues show-cause notice to KAP Sinha over non-payment of dues to employees and pensioners
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday declined to close the contempt proceedings against Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha merely on the basis of his apology and issued him a fresh show-cause notice over the government’s failure to pay pending dearness allowance and dearness relief dues.
Justice Harsh Bunger directed Sinha to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for the alleged wilful disobedience of the High Court’s binding directions.
The Chief Secretary has been ordered to file his reply by November 13 and provide an advance copy to the petitioners’ counsel. He must remain physically present in court when the case is heard at noon on November 17.
The court observed that the conduct of the Punjab government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited prima facie reflected wilful disobedience, particularly as sufficient opportunities had already been granted to implement the directions.
A Division Bench had on August 3 ordered the state government and PSPCL to release all pending DA and DR instalments to employees and pensioners at rates corresponding to those paid to All India Services officers serving in Punjab.
The dues were to be released by August 18, while the Chief Secretary was directed to file a compliance affidavit by August 31. The court was informed that the payments had not been made and that no compliance report was filed within the stipulated period.
The state argued that the High Court order provided for six per cent annual interest in the event of delayed payment and, therefore, the delay could not be treated as wilful disobedience.
Rejecting the argument, the court clarified that payment of interest was intended to compensate employees and pensioners and could not be treated as an alternative to complying with the principal direction.
The court observed that accepting the government’s interpretation would permit it to withhold legitimate dues indefinitely merely by agreeing to pay six per cent interest, thereby defeating the purpose of the time-bound judicial order.
According to a status report filed by the Chief Secretary, the state’s pending liability towards the claims is approximately ₹32,418 crore. Implementing DA at Central government rates would also create an additional recurring annual liability of about ₹4,712 crore.
The government acknowledged that the August 3 judgment remained binding and had not been stayed by the Supreme Court.
The state informed the court that it had increased DA by eight percentage points—from 42 to 50 per cent—with effect from September 1. However, this did not clear the accumulated arrears covered by the High Court’s order.
Sinha had earlier tendered an unconditional apology after the High Court found that his statement regarding the status of Punjab’s special leave petition before the Supreme Court was prima facie incorrect. The court did not find the earlier affidavit sufficient to bring the proceedings to an end.
The state’s appeal against the DA judgment had remained under objections in the Supreme Court Registry. The High Court had questioned why the defects were not removed promptly despite the state securing urgent listing of other cases.
The latest order keeps the contempt proceedings alive and requires the Chief Secretary to personally explain the government’s continued failure to comply with the DA payment directions.