Punjab HC reserves judgement on Punjab govt, state power corporation’s pleas seeking stay on DA release order

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 22 July reserved judgement on pleas filed by the Punjab government and Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) against a previous court order directing release of Dearness Allowance for state employees and pensioners by 30 June, according to a Hindustan Times report.

Acting chief justice of the HC, Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor reserved the order today. Through the month it has held around a dozen hearings on the matter.

The single-judge bench had on 8 April ordered the state to release DA estimated at ₹14,191 crore, on par with rates paid to officers in All India Services — the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS) and the Indian Financial Services (IFS), the report added. The court observed that since the state has accepted recommendations under the 6th pay commission, it could not deny payment of the benefits.

What was argued?

The Punjab government presented the court with a liquidation plan for phase-wise release of benefits till 2028. This was rejected by the single-judge bench. The state argued that since a division bench had in 2025 approved the same plan, the single-judge’s order “travels beyond the permissible limits of judicial review by entering into the domain of fiscal policy and financial administration of the state”, the report said.

“The directions issued, if implemented, would impose an immediate and substantial financial burden, disrupt structured fiscal planning and have wide-ranging administrative consequences,” the petition had said.

Meanwhile, the power corporation argued that it is subject to independent rules and regulations, and the single-judge bench’s order has infringed upon this. It further said that employees of the corporation can’t claim parity with state government employees, the HT report added.

What are employee demands?

The Joint Coordination Committee (JAC) of Punjab Government Employees and Pensioners is pushing long-pension DA and pension related demands to be fulfilled by the state government. These include:

• Restoration of withdrawn allowances,
• Enhancement of retirement gratuity,
• Implementation of the 6th Punjab state pay commission’s remaining recommendations, and
• Extension of minimum wages to women working on honorarium under various government schemes.

Notably, the Punjab government on 30 May announced that it will consider payment of pending DA and DR dues of state government employees (across categories) and pensioners for the period between 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2024.

It also said that a sub-committee will discuss payment of arrears for employees and pensioners based on revised salary and pension benefits for the period between 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2021, PTI reported.