SC directs West Bengal govt to clear 11-year DA arrears for state employees

New Delhi [India], February 5 (ANI): In the long-pending dearness allowance (DA) dispute between the West Bengal government and its employees, the Supreme Court on Thursday granted major relief to nearly 20 lakh State government employees by upholding their right to receive DA and directing the State to clear long-pending arrears.
In its judgment delivered today, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra ordered that DA arrears for the period from 2008 to 2019 must be paid to State employees and reiterated its interim order dated May 16, 2025, under which the State was required to release at least 25% of the outstanding amount.
The Court held that payment of DA is a legally enforceable entitlement of employees and clarified that any amount disbursed pursuant to the judgment shall not be recovered even if there is a subsequent change in law.
"The employees of the Appellant-State shall be entitled to release of arrears in accordance with this judgment for the time 2008-2019," the Court said.
The Court further emphasised that, pending final adjudication in the matter, employees need not be kept waiting endlessly to receive the money in question.
The Court also ordered the constitution of a committee to oversee the disbursement of the remaining arrears. The committee will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra, with former High Court judges Justices Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Goutam Bhaduri as members, along with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India or his nominee.
The committee has been tasked with determining the total amount payable, finalising a structured instalment-wise payment schedule, and periodically verifying the release of funds.
The Court has also directed that the committee shall complete the exercise of determining the total dues and the payment schedule by March 6, 2026, and ordered that the first instalment be paid to the State's employees by March 31, 2026.
The matter has been listed for April 15, 2026, when the State of West Bengal is required to file a status report indicating the determination made by the committee, the schedule adopted and the status of the first payment.
The apex court's ruling came on appeals filed by the West Bengal government challenging the Calcutta High Court's 2022 decision, which had upheld the entitlement of State government employees to receive Dearness Allowance pursuant to the 5th Pay Commission. The State had questioned the High Court's observation treating DA as a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution and had cited financial constraints to justify non-payment.
The States' Employees Confederation of State Government Employees, West Bengal, on the other hand, had sought payment of DA arrears from 2008 onwards in line with the All-India Consumer Price Index.
The dispute arose after the State failed to revise and release DA over several years, leading employees to approach the State Administrative Tribunal and, thereafter, the Calcutta High Court, both of which ruled in favour of the employees and rejected the State's plea of paucity of funds. (ANI)