DA case: HC issues notice to Punjab CS

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to Punjab Chief Secretary K A P Sinha, asking him why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for making a “prima facie false statement” in a case pertaining to the pending dearness allowance of employees and pensioners.

A bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rohit Kapoor also asked the CS to remain present on Friday, which is the next date of hearing. The development came following a report by the high court registry from the Supreme Court registry regarding the state government’s appeal status.

It showed that defects in the Punjab government’s appeal in the Supreme Court have not been removed, which contradicted the stand of the Punjab CS that defects in its appeal have been cured. Petitioners’ counsel Sunny Singla said the high court issued a notice to the Punjab chief secretary, asking why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for giving a “false statement”.

Singla further said the court took note of the report that defects in the Punjab’s government’s appeal have not been removed.

The court directed the high court registry to immediately get a report from the Supreme Court regarding the state government’s appeal status. The court was hearing pleas related to the non-compliance of the court’s August 3 order of releasing DA and dearness relief dues to state employees and pensioners at the rates paid to the members of the All India Services (IAS/IPS/IFS) officers serving in the state on the Central government pattern.

The state of Punjab had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court on September 1 against the high court order, contending that the direction to pay arrears totalling around Rs 14,191 crore in such a short period was constitutionally impossible. On Monday, the bench rapped the Punjab government for playing ‘hide and seek’

with the court.

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The Hans India