SC directs WB government to pay DA to employees by March; BJP hails verdict

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday in a major relief to West Bengal government employees, directed the state government to pay dearness allowance (DA) to its employees in accordance with the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowances) Rules, 2008, ruling that financial constraints cannot be cited to deny the benefit.However, the apex court stopped short of declaring DA a fundamental right, setting aside that portion of the 2022 Calcutta high court judgment. The Court directed that DA arrears for the period from 2008 to 2019 must be paid and reiterated that, in terms of its earlier interim order, at least 25 per cent of the outstanding amount must be released by March 6, reported ANI. The verdict was delivered by a division bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, which was hearing pleas, including one filed by the West Bengal government, challenging the High Court’s order directing the state to pay DA at par with central government employees and clear arrears from July 2009. The Supreme Court held that while employees are entitled to DA under the state’s own pay revision rules from 2008 onwards, the High Court erred in treating DA as a fundamental right.The bench ruled that a state government “cannot invoke the ground of financial crunch” to deny dearness allowance to its employees, observing that statutory service rules are binding on the employer once framed.Reacting to the ruling Union minister Sukanta Majumdar hailed the apex court’s decision, saying the SC has called the Mamata Banerjee led government’s stance “wrong”."Today, we welcome the verdict given by the Supreme Court, the apex court of this country. The Supreme Court stated that the stance of Mamata Banerjee's government was wrong. Mamata Banerjee's government was not considering Dearness Allowance as a right for the employees. But today, the apex court has declared that Dearness Allowance is indeed a right of the employees. The Supreme Court has ordered that the West Bengal government will have to pay 25% DA to the employees right away..." Majumdar said.The judgment comes after the apex court had earlier directed the West Bengal government to clear 25 per cent of the outstanding DA arrears within six months. The state, however, failed to comply with the direction and had sought an additional six months’ time.The hearing in the matter had concluded in September last year, after which the court reserved its verdict. The ruling was delivered after a wait of around five months. The dispute arose after the Calcutta high court, in 2022, directed the state government to grant DA at rates applicable to central government employees and to release pending arrears, prompting the state to approach the Supreme Court.