SC hearing of WB govt employees DA case postponed for 18th time

The hearing of the matters related to the dearness allowance (DA) of West Bengal government employees was once again postponed at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Reportedly, this marks the 18th consecutive postponement of the DA case in the apex court.

 

The dispute began when a section of state government employees approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking DA parity with central government employees, including arrears. In May 2022, the high court directed the state to pay DA at the central rate.

 

However, the West Bengal government challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, filing an appeal in November 2022. Since then, the case has experienced multiple hearings and adjournments, often due to scheduling conflicts and bench reassignments.

 

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has announced incremental increases in DA on a few occasions, though they have not matched the central rates and a gap of 37 per cent still remains.

 

The case was initially being heard by a bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy, but it had to be reassigned after his retirement. On Wednesday, it was to be heard by the division bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Manoj Misra following a recent reassignment from the bench led by Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta on May 11.

 

On Wednesday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the state government counsel was busy in the hearing of another case. He reportedly sought a postponement in the hearing which the Supreme Court granted. The next hearing is likely to take place on Friday.

 

Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, who is appearing on behalf of a section of state government employees along with advocate Firdous Shamim, informed the media that the court has conveyed there won’t be further delay and the final hearing could take place on Friday.

 

On the other hand, Debashis Shil, president of the West Bengal Government Employees' Council, was hopeful that the Supreme Court might produce a final verdict in the case in the next hearing.

 

The last hearing in the matter took place on December 1, 2024. The Supreme Court had stated that a detailed hearing was necessary to address the issue of DA for state employees, assuring that all parties would be heard thoroughly. However, due to lack of time, a full hearing could not be conducted.

India