Punjab Government Can't Spend On Ads Till Dearness Allowance Dues Cleared: High Court

The Punjab government must clear all dearness allowance (DA) dues within a fortnight and stop "unproductive expenditures" like ad campaigns till the dues are settled, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said in an order on Monday.

The high court dismissed appeals filed by the state government and the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) against a single bench's order to release DA dues to its employees and pensioners.

"The Chief Secretary to the Government of Punjab is directed to ensure scrupulous compliance of the directions issued herein and file a compliance report by way of affidavit before the Registry of this Court by end of this month, i.e. August 31, 2026.

"Till all such dues are cleared, the State of Punjab shall not resort to any unproductive expenditures, such as large-scale advertising campaigns in print or social media, as these expenses cannot justify the denial of dues admissible to State employees," a bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said in its order.

If the DA arrears are not cleared during the time given by the court, the unpaid amounts will carry a simple interest of 6 per cent per year, to be paid by the state.

Lawyer Sunny Singla, appearing for the employees' organisations, told reporters that instead of complying with the single-bench order in April, the government had filed an appeal. On April 8, the single-bench of the high court had directed Punjab to clear the pending dearness allowance of state government employees and pensioners by June 30.

The submission by the Punjab government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), about its strained financial health was rejected. The petitioners said DA instalments July 1, 2023 have not been released to serving employees and pensioners.

The Punjab assembly election is due in early 2027.