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Supreme Court's Directive on Dearness Allowance

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has provided interim relief to thousands of state government employees by instructing the West Bengal government to implement a dearness allowance (DA) increase of 25 percent.

A bench led by Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta mandated that the state government adhere to this order within three months.

The bench has scheduled a further hearing regarding the long-standing issue of DA arrears for August.

Following unfavorable rulings from the Calcutta High Court, which ordered the state to make immediate payments for DA arrears, the West Bengal government sought a special leave petition (SLP) from the Supreme Court.

The Calcutta High Court had emphasized that DA arrears are a rightful entitlement of state employees, not merely a charitable gesture.

In an affidavit submitted to the Calcutta High Court, the state government expressed concerns that complying with the court's order to pay DA arrears could result in severe financial repercussions.

Employees, represented by the Joint Forum of State Government Employees, have been staging protests demanding DA parity with their Central government counterparts and the associated arrears.

Last December, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced an additional four percent DA for state employees, but the joint forum criticized this increment as insufficient, highlighting a 36 percent gap compared to Central government employees.

Additionally, the Confederation of State Government Employees filed a contempt petition against the state for failing to meet the three-month deadline for DA arrears payment. The Calcutta High Court has instructed the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary to submit affidavits explaining why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for non-compliance with the court's ruling.