The Supreme Court of India issued an interim order on May 16, 2025, directing the West Bengal government to pay 25% of the outstanding Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to its state government employees within six weeks.

 

The Supreme Court of India issued an interim order on May 16, 2025, directing the West Bengal government to pay 25% of the outstanding Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to its state government employees within six weeks. This directive pertains to arrears accumulated between 2009 and 2019 and is part of the case titled The State of West Bengal & Ors. vs. Confederation of State Government Employees, West Bengal & Ors. .timesofindia.indiatimes.com+7economictimes.indiatimes.com+7millenniumpost.in+7indianexpress.com+1api.sci.gov.in+1

The case originated from a 2022 Calcutta High Court ruling that mandated the state to align its DA disbursal with central government rates. The state government challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, leading to the current interim order. The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, emphasized that the financial constraints cited by the state were insufficient grounds to delay the payment of DA arrears. telegraphindia.com+8lawtrend.in+8millenniumpost.in+8financialexpress.com+2taazatv.com+2m.economictimes.com+2taazatv.com+9timesofindia.indiatimes.com+9indianexpress.com+9

The court has scheduled the next hearing for August 4, 2025, to further deliberate on the matter, including the question of whether the right to receive Dearness Allowance constitutes a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.api.sci.gov.in+1indianexpress.com+1

For a detailed understanding, you can refer to the official Supreme Court order here: Supreme Court Order dated 16-May-2025. 

BACKGROUND

Case Summary (WPST No. 45 of 2017 – Judgment dated 31 Aug 2018)

• Bench: Justices Debasish Kar Gupta & Sekhar Bobby Saraf wbpay.in+10vannamboodiri.com+10hindustantimes.com+10

• Background: The State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) had previously held (in its 2016 order) that dearness allowance (DA) was an ex gratia concession, not a legal entitlement—essentially calling it a "donation" wbpay.in+6newindianexpress.com+6hindustantimes.com+6.

• High Court’s Ruling:

  • Overturned the SAT’s finding: Declared that DA is a legal right under the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay & Allowances) Rules, 2009 indiankanoon.org+15vannamboodiri.com+15wbpay.in+15.

  • Remanded key issues to the SAT within a 2‑month timeframe:

    1. Whether West Bengal employees are entitled to DA at the same rate as Central Government employees.

    2. Whether differential DA rates for state employees posted in Delhi and Chennai are discriminatory in violation of Article 14 scm-bps.blogspot.com+5vannamboodiri.com+5newindianexpress.com+5.

  • Directed the State Government to file affidavits before the SAT on these issues, allowing petitioners to respond nationalheraldindia.com+15vannamboodiri.com+15newindianexpress.com+15.

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📌 SAT/CAT Order Details

The High Court remanded the matter to the SAT (i.e., State Administrative Tribunal) to reconsider the following:

Issue	Description
1. DA parity	Whether West Bengal employees deserve DA at par with Central Government rates
2. Regional discrimination	Whether paying differing DA rates to staff deputed outside West Bengal (e.g., in Delhi or Chennai) is arbitrary and unconstitutional

While the exact citation of the SAT’s order isn’t separately publicized, it refers to an SAT decision from 2016, in O.A. No. 1154 of 2016, which originally denied DA as a legal entitlement. The High Court's remand includes the SAT's subsequent proceedings in this O.A. file.

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📚 Noteworthy Citations

• SAT decision (2016) — categorized DA as a “donation” and non-entitlement sanskritiias.com+8newindianexpress.com+8vannamboodiri.com+8sanskritiias.com+1wbpay.in+1scm-bps.blogspot.comhindustantimes.com.

• Calcutta High Court Judgment, 31 Aug 2018 in WPST No. 45 of 2017 — declares DA a legal right; remands issues of Central parity and posting-based discrimination indiankanoon.org+4vannamboodiri.com+4scm-bps.blogspot.com+4.

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⌛ Next Steps

• Follow-up: The SAT was directed to conduct a full hearing on those remanded issues within two months (i.e., by end‑October 2018) .

• Outcome: The final determination on DA rates (Central parity, discrimination, and any arrears) would be based on the SAT’s refreshed order in O.A. 1154/2016.

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✅ In summary: The 31 Aug 2018 decision firmly declared DA a legal entitlement under ROPA 2009 and sent back two key issues—Central Government parity and discriminatory DA distribution—to the SAT for adjudication.

Let me know if you'd like the SAT’s final order or any printed citation references!