New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly criticized the Punjab government for attempting to distance itself from assurances made by its legal representatives regarding the Punjab Privately Managed Aided Colleges Pension Scheme, 1996. A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice N Kotiswar Singh reprimanded Punjab’s Chief Secretary, KAP Sinha, for failing to provide clear answers on the implementation of pension benefits, as reported by Bar and Bench.
The court accused the government of misleading judicial proceedings by disowning commitments made by its Advocate General before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Oka called this act “shameless” and issued contempt notices to Chief Secretary Sinha and Surinder Kaul, Deputy Director of the Department of Public Instructions (Colleges), Punjab.
During the heated proceedings, the court demanded a direct response from the Punjab government on whether pension benefits would be granted. Sinha hesitated, stating he could not override legislative decisions. The court warned of severe consequences, emphasizing that repeated false undertakings and affidavits had been submitted.
Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh acknowledged the gravity of the situation, calling the government’s stance “unfortunate.” The court, however, remained firm, stating that moving forward, only official affidavits—not verbal assurances—would be considered from the Punjab government.
The matter was adjourned after the court ordered Sinha to submit an affidavit naming those responsible for the misleading statements.
