Chandigarh: The Punjab government has challenged a Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench order directing it to pay employees around ₹15,000 crore in dearness allowance (DA) within 15 days.
The state government filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking to challenge the High Court’s decision. The government had announced two days earlier that it would approach the top court against the order.
In its petition, the state has argued that paying such a large amount within 15 days is not only difficult but practically impossible. The Supreme Court has not yet fixed a date for hearing the matter.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Sanjha Mulazim Manch has already filed a caveat in the Supreme Court. Its president, Sukhchain Singh Khehra, said the caveat was filed to prevent the government from obtaining any order without the employees’ side being heard.
Khehra said the employees’ forum had anticipated that the government would explore all possible legal avenues to avoid paying the pending DA and had therefore approached the Supreme Court in advance.
