DA Case Update: Hearing Preponed! State Faces Supreme Court Again in Early September on a New Bench
DA Case Update: Here’s a very important piece of news for West Bengal state government employees. The hearing date for the pending Dearness Allowance (DA) case in the Supreme Court has been brought forward. Instead of the previously scheduled September 11th, the next hearing will now take place on September 1, 2025. This change has sparked fresh hope among the employees, although the wait for a final verdict continues.
Change in Hearing Date and New Bench
According to the information published on the Supreme Court’s official website, the Dearness Allowance case (Diary No – 35292/2022) of the West Bengal Government vs. State Government Employees’ Confederations is now listed for hearing on the first day of September. The case will be heard by a division bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Mehta. It is listed at the TOP OF THE LIST FOR ADMISSION under “Motion Hearing,” which strongly suggests that the hearing is very likely to proceed on that day.
A significant point to note is that Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra is not part of this new bench. All eyes are now on whether this change in the bench will bring a new turn to the case’s proceedings. The advancement of the hearing date from September 11th to September 1st has brought some relief to the employee unions, who have been demanding a swift resolution.
Case Background and Current Situation
For a long time, West Bengal state government employees have been demanding Dearness Allowance at par with their central government counterparts. Their main grievance is the significant disparity in the DA they receive. Currently, state employees receive DA at a rate of 18%, while central government employees receive it at 55%. This huge gap has caused widespread discontent among the employees.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court after passing through the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta High Court had ruled in favor of the employees, directing the state government to pay DA at the central rate. However, the state government challenged this verdict by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court. The case has been pending in the apex court ever since.
Earlier, the bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Mehta had directed the state government to pay 25% of the pending DA arrears as an interim measure. But the state government expressed its inability to comply, citing a financial crisis, and requested a review of the order. In this context, the upcoming hearing on September 1st becomes extremely crucial.
Employees’ Expectations
The state government employee unions are hopeful that the Supreme Court will now put an end to the state’s delaying tactics and deliver a final verdict. They argue that Dearness Allowance is not a charity or grant but their legal right. The failure to receive the pending DA is impacting their standard of living amidst rising inflation. Now, it remains to be seen what direction the apex court takes on September 1st and what the future holds for the lakhs of government employees and pensioners in the state.
