Rs 1 lakh in costs, an affidavit and a personal appearance: that is what the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed for the Chief Secretary of Punjab over non-compliance with its order to release pending dearness allowance to government employees.
Chandigarh: Unpaid dearness allowance (DA) arrears have now cost Punjab’s Chief Secretary Rs 1 lakh in a contempt petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has also directed him to explain the non-compliance on affidavit and to be personally present at the next hearing [Contempt petition arising from Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab v. Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and Others].
The contempt matter was heard by Justice Harsh Bunger. It alleges that the State has not complied with the High Court’s judgment on payment of DA at par with the Central Government pattern. The contempt allegations are those of the petitioners and have not been adjudicated.
Costs, an affidavit and a date in person
Justice Bunger imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on the Chief Secretary for not complying with the direction to pay the pending DA. The Chief Secretary must file an affidavit explaining why the direction was not followed and must be personally present on the next date of hearing.
The judgment behind the contempt
The dispute is about DA and Dearness Relief instalments that the Punjab Government had kept in abeyance. By the High Court’s account, the State’s DA stood at 42 per cent while the Central rate had reached 60 per cent, with four instalments from 42 per cent to 55 per cent pending. A Single Judge allowed the writ petitions on April 8, 2026, quashed the State’s liquidation plan as violative of Article 14, and directed payment of arrears by June 30, 2026.
In August 2026, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor dismissed the Letters Patent Appeals filed by the State and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. Once the State adopted the Central pattern for DA, the Bench held, it took on a binding obligation to release accrued instalments, and financial constraints could not justify withholding them indefinitely. It ordered the pending instalments released within a fortnight, with simple interest at 6 per cent per annum on delay, and asked the Chief Secretary to file a compliance affidavit by August 31, 2026.
The Supreme Court petition and the September hearing
The Division Bench summoned the Chief Secretary on September 22, 2026, on an application alleging non-compliance. Counsel for the petitioners pointed out that the objections in the State’s Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court had not been removed, and that the State had placed newspaper advertisements in different States on August 15, which the petitioners called unproductive expenditure. Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla told the Court that employees had met the Chief Minister on DA and that efforts were being made to resolve the matter amicably. The Bench accepted the State’s right to appeal but said that right must be exercised fairly and that proceedings cannot be adjourned indefinitely.
At a later hearing, the Chief Secretary stated that the Special Leave Petition had been re-filed after the defects were removed, while the Supreme Court Registry had pointed out that the defects continued. The Advocate General told the Court that the petition was re-filed on October 1 and that the Registry may have raised fresh objections afterwards. The Bench did not accept that explanation and observed that re-filing a defective appeal almost a month after the original filing suggested an attempt to misrepresent the facts before the Court. The contempt matter was then sent to the roster Bench.
Where the contempt petition stands
The Court has not yet decided whether contempt is made out, and the State’s response is awaited.
Case Title: Contempt petition arising from Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab v. Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and Others (LPA Nos. 1437, 1249 and 1290 of 2026)
Bench: Justice Harsh Bunger, Punjab and Haryana High Court
Date of Order: October 27, 2026