DA hike case: Relief for West Bengal as Supreme Court likely to hear case in March

The West Bengal government employees' Dearness Allowance (DA) case may be heard in the Supreme Court in March. State employees are demanding DA at central rates, but the hearing date remains uncertain due to a change in the bench.

DA case in Supreme Court

The Dearness Allowance case of West Bengal government employees may come up again in the Supreme Court in March. State government employees have been vocal for a long time demanding dearness allowance. Their demand was that the state government should provide dearness allowance at central rates. But the state government is not willing to do so.

Demand for dearness allowance at central rates

The state government's dearness allowance case may come up for hearing again in March. The case was last heard by the bench of then Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice NV Bhatti.

This time the DA case may come up in a new bench. Justice Hrishikesh Roy has retired on January 31, 2025. Therefore, the bench of the DA case will be changed again.

Hence, anxiety about the hearing date

The Supreme Court had stated that the hearing may be in March. But it is not yet certain which bench will hear the case. Therefore, the Supreme Court has not given any clear instructions regarding the date.

Optimistic lawyer

However, the lawyers of the state government employees are optimistic that the DA case will be heard soon in the Supreme Court. They have said that it will not take much longer for the hearing.

DA case in Supreme Court

The DA case has been going on in the Supreme Court since November 18, 2022. The date has been postponed repeatedly. Due to this, the anxiety among the state government employees is increasing regarding the DA case.

Challenging the High Court's verdict

The Kolkata High Court had ruled in favor of the state government employees in the DA case. But the state government went to the Supreme Court challenging that verdict.

DA announcement

The state government had announced a 3 percent DA for the state government employees in the budget itself. But a section of the state government employees is not happy with it.

Difference between center and DA

The state government employees have demanded DA at the rates of the center. The central government employees are currently getting DA at the rate of 53 percent. Therefore, the difference in DA will currently be 35 percent.