The Calcutta High Court today held that dearness allowance (DA) was a legal right of West Bengal government employees.-31.08.2018
The Calcutta High Court today
held that dearness allowance (DA)
was a legal right of West Bengal government employees.
A
division bench comprising Justices Debasish Kar Gupta and Sekhar Bobby Saraf set
aside a State Administrative Tribunal (SAT)
order that had said that DA cannot be
claimed as a right by the state government employees.
The
bench held that the employees' claim for DA as per the
central government DA rates would be
decided by the SAT, which was asked by the court to rehear the issue.
It
also asked the tribunal to decide whether the state government was justified to
pay differential rates to its employees posted at Delhi and Chennai.
The
division bench observed that the central government fixes DA of its employees
across the country at the same rate without discriminating on the place of
posting.
The
court said it cannot be said that employees in Kolkata were affected
differently from inflation compared to those posted in Delhi or Chennai.
During
an argument of the case, the state Advocate General had
claimed that DA was not a right of the employees, but a benevolence on the part
of the government.
Observing
that the tribunal had not considered the two issues properly and not invited
affidavits from the state government with regard to its claim, the bench
directed the West Bengal government
to file an affidavit before SAT within three weeks.
The
petitioners will be at liberty to file their reply to the state government's
affidavit within another week after that.
The
bench also directed the tribunal to hear the issues relating to the rates of DA
to be paid to the employees expeditiously without unnecessary adjournment and
to conclude hearing in the matter within two months excluding holidays.
The Confederation of State Government Employees
had moved the SAT, claiming disparity in rates of DA paid by the West Bengal government
and the central government to their respective employees.
The
SAT had held that DA was not a right of the state government employees and as
such it could not question the rates at which it was paid to them.
The
HC observed that as the government accepted the Fifth Pay Commission
recommendation of 2009 that said that DA was part of salary and a legally
enforceable right.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is
auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Fri,
August 31 2018. 17:05 IST
The Calcutta High Court today
held that dearness allowance (DA)
was a legal right of West Bengal government employees.
A
division bench comprising Justices Debasish Kar Gupta and Sekhar Bobby Saraf set
aside a State Administrative Tribunal (SAT)
order that had said that DA cannot be
claimed as a right by the state government employees.
The
bench held that the employees' claim for DA as per the
central government DA rates would be
decided by the SAT, which was asked by the court to rehear the issue.
It
also asked the tribunal to decide whether the state government was justified to
pay differential rates to its employees posted at Delhi and Chennai.
The
division bench observed that the central government fixes DA of its employees
across the country at the same rate without discriminating on the place of
posting.
The
court said it cannot be said that employees in Kolkata were affected
differently from inflation compared to those posted in Delhi or Chennai.
During
an argument of the case, the state Advocate General had
claimed that DA was not a right of the employees, but a benevolence on the part
of the government.
Observing
that the tribunal had not considered the two issues properly and not invited
affidavits from the state government with regard to its claim, the bench
directed the West Bengal government
to file an affidavit before SAT within three weeks.
The
petitioners will be at liberty to file their reply to the state government's
affidavit within another week after that.
The
bench also directed the tribunal to hear the issues relating to the rates of DA
to be paid to the employees expeditiously without unnecessary adjournment and
to conclude hearing in the matter within two months excluding holidays.
The Confederation of State Government Employees
had moved the SAT, claiming disparity in rates of DA paid by the West Bengal government
and the central government to their respective employees.
The
SAT had held that DA was not a right of the state government employees and as
such it could not question the rates at which it was paid to them.
The
HC observed that as the government accepted the Fifth Pay Commission
recommendation of 2009 that said that DA was part of salary and a legally
enforceable right.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is
auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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