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The State of West Bengal & Anr. v. Confederation of State Government Employees, West Bengal & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 123Decided 5 Feb 2026
C.A. No.-000792-000794 - 2026
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra

Background

Following the Fifth Pay Commission's recommendations, the West Bengal government issued Rules in 2009 revising pay and Dearness Allowance (DA) for state employees, but a long-running dispute arose over the State's failure to pay DA at rates comparable to the Central Government/All-India Consumer Price Index. After employees won before the State Administrative Tribunal and, on appeal, before the Calcutta High Court, which held DA payment to be a facet of the right to life under Article 21, the State challenged these rulings before the Supreme Court, while the employees also filed contempt petitions over non-compliance, seeking arrears for 2008-2019.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that receiving Dearness Allowance is a legally enforceable right of the employees once the earlier round of litigation had settled the matter, and that the Rules require the AICPI (All-India Consumer Price Index) to be the standard for calculating DA. It rejected the State's argument that paying the arrears (running into thousands of crores) was unaffordable, holding that paucity of funds cannot excuse a State from honouring statutory dues that are earned compensation for service, not charity. The Court also rejected the State's plea that the employees' claims were barred by delay and laches, since the underlying wrong was continuing in nature. It left open, at the parties' joint request, the specific question of whether DA is itself a fundamental right under Article 21. The appeals were partly allowed: employees were held entitled to DA arrears for 2008-2019, and the Court constituted a monitoring committee (headed by a retired Supreme Court judge) to determine the payment schedule, with the first instalment due by 31 March 2026.

Lesson Learnt

A state government cannot indefinitely withhold statutory dues like Dearness Allowance by citing financial constraints once an employee's legal entitlement to it has been judicially established: such obligations must be honoured, and courts can order structured, monitored payment plans to ensure compliance.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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