Chandigarh: Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha appeared before the Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday in connection with the case over pending dearness allowance (DA) arrears for state government employees. The court referred the contempt matter against him to the roster bench, observing that the dignity of the court could not be compromised.
During the hearing, senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing the state government, submitted that the chief secretary had no intention of misleading the court. He said Sinha was willing to tender an unconditional apology if the court considered it appropriate.
The matter will now be heard on Monday.
Representing the employees, senior advocate Sanjay Kaushal said the Punjab government had challenged the high court’s decision on DA arrears in the Supreme Court, but the appeal had not yet been listed for hearing.
Kaushal questioned the delay, pointing out that the state government had promptly filed an appeal against a high court ruling in a separate Enforcement Directorate-related matter, and a hearing had been scheduled.
Describing this as differential treatment, he asked why the case concerning arrears owed to lakhs of government employees was taking so long to come up for hearing.
