Supreme Court defers DA case hearing till May 6, to review status report after election results

The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing of the long-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) case, scheduling the next hearing for May 6, after the declaration of election results. The court stated that it will review the status report submitted by the West Bengal government before proceeding further in the matter.

During the latest hearing, the state government, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, informed the bench that it has already disbursed ₹6,000 crore towards DA payments to government employees. The state also asserted that it is acting in accordance with the recommendations of the committee constituted by the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute.

The apex court had earlier directed that 25% of the pending DA dues be cleared within April. It had also set up a high-level committee led by former judge Indu Malhotra to determine the roadmap and timeline for clearing the remaining dues. The committee is expected to hold its next meeting on April 27 and submit further updates.

However, petitioners argued before the court that several employees have not yet received their DA payments. In response, the bench observed that while the disbursement process appears to have begun, any discrepancies should first be addressed by the committee. The court advised petitioners to approach the panel before seeking further judicial intervention.

The Supreme Court has now taken additional time to verify the extent of disbursement and assess whether the ₹6,000 crore claimed by the state has actually reached beneficiaries. The next hearing is expected to provide clarity on compliance with court directives and the future course of action in the DA dispute.