Kochi: Federation of All Kerala University Employees‘ Organisations, which has already filed a petition seeking the disbursement of DA arrears to govt employees and teachers, has now filed an interlocutory application (IA) in high court seeking a directive to release at least one instalment of the arrears before March 31.
HC is expected to consider the IA along with the main petition on Monday. The petitioners’ case is that the state govt had not implemented the normal revision of dearness allowance (DA) from 2021 and that, during 2021-2024, as many as eight instalments of DA became due and payable to teachers as well as similarly placed govt employees. The chief minister, in a statement made in the assembly, also categorically stated that eight instalments of DA were due to employees from 2021. Subsequently, a govt order dated Feb 6 stated that the DA arrears were to be disbursed in eight instalments commencing from the financial year 2026-27.
The petitioners now contend that they have learned that the govt is proposing to adjust the said arrears against the PF accounts of employees and teachers, effectively resulting in no monetary disbursement, which defeats the very purpose of DA. They further argue that, although termed as “disbursal,” the mechanism, in effect, deprives employees of the real and immediate benefit of the arrears, which constitute a component of their salary legitimately due for the period from 2021 to 2024, as recently explained by Supreme Court.
