The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken strong exception to governmental delays in clearing financial entitlements, slapping a penalty of 1 lakh rupees on the Chief Secretary of Punjab. The judicial intervention comes after continued procedural lapses concerning long-pending financial dues owed to government staff and retired pensioners. The court directed the top administrative officer to appear in person on 3 November to explain the administration's conduct.
Procedural Lapses Regarding the Apex Court Filing
During proceedings, it came to light that a special leave petition (SLP) moved by the state government before the Supreme Court had been languishing in the defect list for over two months. Expressing severe displeasure at this administrative inertia, the bench instructed the Chief Secretary to file a personal affidavit clarifying why the directives issued earlier by the High Court had not been executed on the ground.
The Core Dispute Over Dearness Allowance Dues
The protracted litigation stems from unresolved claims submitted by state employees and retired personnel concerning unpaid dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) arrears. Facing indefinite withholding of their mandatory cost-of-living adjustments, affected staff members approached the judiciary, turning the non-disbursement of arrears into a major legal contest between the state machinery and its workforce.
Minister Sanjeev Arora Denied Bail in Financial Probe
Compounding the administration's legal hurdles, the High Court also turned down the regular bail plea of Aam Aadmi Party cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora in an ongoing money laundering inquiry. Justice Kuldeep Tiwari delivered the verdict rejecting the relief petition. The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Arora on 9 May in connection with an alleged 102.5 crore rupee fraudulent GST refund and mobile phone export case involving Hampton Sky Realty Limited.
