Top Court Reserves Verdict On Pleas Asking Bengal To Pay 25% Of Pending Dues

The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on pleas, including the one filed by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court 2022 order, asking the state to release Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears since July 2009. 

The top court had earlier ordered the West Bengal government to pay 25 per cent of pending DA dues to state government employees when the Revision of Pay and Allowances (ROPA) came into effect, and a time period of six weeks was allotted for this.

However, the state could not pay the DA to the employees within the given timeframe because of a financial crisis, and sought another six months from the court. Based on that application by the Bengal government, the top court had scheduled hearings every day from August 4 to August 7.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh heard senior lawyers, including Abhishek Singhvi and Huzefa Ahmadi, on behalf of the state government, and senior advocate PS Patwalia and others for the Confederation of State Government Employees and others before reserving the judgment.

The top court heard about four appeals, including the one filed by the state government, against the high court verdict.

One of the key issues raised for adjudication also includes whether "the right to receive Dearness Allowance is a fundamental right" or not.

While reserving the verdict, Justice Karol asked the counsel for the parties to file "comprehensive written submissions" within two weeks.

Interestingly, there is no allocation for outstanding DA in the state budget for the financial year 2025-26.  

The dispute between the state government and some of its employees began when the latter went to the Calcutta High Court seeking DA parity with central government staff, including arrears. The case was taken to the Supreme Court through the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) and the Calcutta High Court. 

Currently, Bengal government employees get 18 per cent DA after the new 4 per cent is added to the existing 14 per cent as on April 1, 2025, leading to widespread discontent among employees.