Chandigarh: A contempt petition has been filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Punjab government, alleging deliberate non-compliance with the court’s directions to release all pending instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) to employees and pensioners.
The petition has been filed by retired employees under Article 215 of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act. The petitioners have sought action against state officials for allegedly failing to comply with the court’s order.
Two-week deadline expired on August 17
The contempt plea relates to a August 3 judgment of a division bench in the case of Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab vs Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and others.
The state government had challenged an April 8 order passed by a single judge. However, the division bench dismissed the government’s appeals and upheld the earlier directions.
Under the original order, the Punjab government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) were directed to release all pending DA/DR instalments to their employees and pensioners at rates applicable to All India Service officers serving in Punjab, following the Central government pattern.
The court had given the government two weeks to implement the order. According to the contempt petition, the deadline expired on August 17.
Petition alleges finance department issued fresh directions
The petitioners claim that instead of releasing the pending DA and DR, the Finance Department of the Punjab Civil Secretariat issued a letter to all secretaries on August 17.
According to the petition, Under Secretary Saroj stated in the letter that such orders should not be implemented without prior approval from the Finance Department or until general instructions were issued.
The petitioners have argued that this amounted to non-compliance with the High Court’s directions and have sought appropriate contempt proceedings against the officials concerned.
