Punjab DA Arrears Case: Govt Misses Own Court-Ordered Deadline
Punjab DA Arrears Case: Punjab govt fails to file compliance affidavit on DA arrears despite April 8 HC order and June 30 deadline. Court adjourns case to July 7
North Desk Correspondent
Chandigarh, July 2
Punjab DA Arrears Case: The Punjab and Haryana High Court noted on Thursday that its April 8 order directing the state to clear DA arrears remains unimplemented, with the Finance Department yet to file the required affidavit. The state sought more time.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday recorded that the Punjab government has still not complied with its April 8 order directing the release of Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to state employees and pensioners, with no affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, as required.
The matter — Gurvinder Singh case — came up along with the connected petition — Hardeep Singh case– before Justice Namit Kumar.
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According to the order, the court noted that “the order dated 08.04.2026 has not been complied with as no affidavit of the Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Punjab, has been filed.” State counsel, appearing for the government, sought additional time to file the affidavit. The court adjourned the matter to July 7, 2026.
Advocate Sunny Singla appeared for the petitioners in one case, and Advocate Kanwar Abhay Singh for the petitioners in the other. The state was represented by Additional Advocate General Anu Chatrath along with Deputy Advocate General Rohit Ahuja. Advocate Anupam Singla appeared for respondent No. 3, and Advocate Rehat Bir Singh Mann for respondent No. 4.
Punjab DA Arrears Case: Background
The court’s April 8 order had directed the Punjab government to release all pending DA installments to state employees and pensioners at par with IAS, IPS, IFS and judicial officers, rejecting the state’s submission that financial constraints justified the delay. The court had set June 30, 2026 as the deadline for clearing the arrears — estimated at around Rs 1,400 crore — and warned that failure to comply could invite contempt proceedings.
This is what the High Court had directed on last hearing: “Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Punjab is directed to file his response by way of an affidavit of a responsible officer, deliberating therein the reasons for deviating from the Central Government pattern in extending the benefit of notional rates of DA to State Government employees who retired between 01.01.2020 and 30.06.2021 for the purpose of calculating their retiral benefits of gratuity and leave encashment.”
On May 21, a division bench of the High Court declined to stay that order on a review plea by the state, though it indicated it could consider extending the deadline if the government submitted a proper payment schedule. The bench had also questioned the state’s repeated invocation of financial distress, asking why Punjab did not simply declare a financial emergency if the situation was as severe as claimed.
With Thursday’s order, the June 30 deadline has passed without the state filing the compliance affidavit the court’s original order required. The matter now returns on July 7.
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