After Arvind Kejriwal, CJP ‘cockroach’ Saurav Das peddles lies against Punjab & Haryana HC Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra over DA ruling: Debunking the ‘judiciary acting at BJP’s behest’ bogey

· OpIndia

Throughout its journey from an online satire movement, orchestrator of violent protest to inducting former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries in working committee post transition into a ‘pressure group’, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has been accused of being an unofficial B-Team of AAP. Despite the repeated denials, the ideological imperative has forced CJP leader Saurav Das to bat openly for the AAP government in Punjab and open a front against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra.

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In an X post published on the evening of 20th August, CJP co-convenor Saurav Das claimed that the Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra, withdrew a ‘politically sensitive’ case pertaining to Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd’s Dearness Allowance from another ‘independent’ bench.

Casting aspersions on the integrity of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Saurav Das claimed that the ACJ heard this case himself by violating the roster as these matters were not before him. He further claimed that Justice Mishra passed an order on 3rd August against the AAP government, which is an ideological-political adversary of the BJP.

The CJP ‘cockroach’ further alleged that Justice Mishra not only created a financial liability of Rs 20,000 crore on the AAP government in Punjab, but also reduced the time period to pay the amount from 30 days to 15 days, to the employees.

“Another controversy has hit the Punjab & Haryana High Court again. Its Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) had withdrawn a politically sensitive case relating to Dearness Allowance of PSPCL from another bench that had a reputation of being independent, hears it himself in violation of roster since such matters were not before him, and passed an order on 3 August against the Government of Punjab, political adversary of the BJP, creating a financial liability of Rs 20,000 crores. He even reduced the time period to pay the amount from 30 days to 15 days, which in all terms is a practical impossibility. Remember, Punjab’s debt-related issue is being raked up before the upcoming state election,” Das wrote.

“Days later, on 6 August, the ACJ gets promoted as the Chief Justice of the same High Court. Is this a coincidence?” he asked.

The CJP ‘cockroach’ further targeted former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, who was recently elevated to the Supreme Court.

“If you remember, I had reported how the previous Chief Justice too had violated the roster to withdraw and list politically sensitive cases related to AAP-to-BJP defector MPs. That Chief Justice was elevated to the Supreme Court recently. Why are roster violations and misuse of master of roster powers being accepted? Several such instances in opposition ruled states. We must guard our institutions from being weaponised to meet political ends,” Das added.

While the timeline of the events given by Saurav Das checks out, his claims of withdrawing the matter from an ‘independent’ bench, by which he meant politically unbiased, roster violation, liability figures and even those about Justice Mishra’s promotion are inaccurate. It is amusing how liberals glorify their failed or successful forum-shopping tactics as a preference for ‘independent judges’ over ‘biased judges’.

Notably, on 3rd August 2026, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising ACJ Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Rohit Kapoor dismissed Letters Patent Appeals (LPA) filed by the State of Punjab and the PSPCL.

The court upheld a single-judge order dated 8th April 2026 and directed payment of pending Dearness Allowance (DA)/Dearness Relief (DR) to employees and pensioners at rates matching the Central pattern for All India Services officers.

Since the original single-judge deadline set for 30th June 2026 had expired while the appeals were pending, the Division Bench altered the timeline to “within a fortnight [15 days]”, with 6% simple interest on default and a bar on certain “unproductive expenditures”, including large-scale advertising until the dues are cleared. The court also sought a compliance affidavit from the Chief Secretary by 31st August 2026.

Estimated liability not Rs 14,000 crore not Rs 20,000 crore

The court’s decision created a liability for the AAP-led Punjab government and PSPCL. As per reports, the estimated DA figure stands roughly at Rs 14,000-15,000 crore, while broader outstanding employees-related dues stand between Rs 18,000-21,000 crore. However, the Division Bench order itself concerned the DA/DR arrears, and thus, CJP ‘cockroach’ Saurav Das’s “Rs 20,000 crores liability” claim is an overstatement.

No proof that Punjab and Haryana HC Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra withdrew the PSPCL DA case from another bench in violation of the roster

Regarding Saurav Das’s claim that Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra withdrew the PSPCL DA case from ‘another independent bench’, there are no contemporaneous reports or court records that corroborate the CJP co-convenor’s conspiracy theory. There is no evidence that Justice Mishra heard the matter in violation of the roster because “such matters were not before him”.

As Acting Chief Justice, the judge is essentially the master of the roster and often heads such benches; beyond Saurav Das’s politically motivated conspiratorial insinuations, there is public evidence of illegal assignment in this matter.

No, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra did not reduce the DA payment window from 30 to 15 days, as claimed by CJP ‘cockroach’ Saurav Das

Saurav Das’s claim that the Division Bench led by Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra reduced the time period to make DA payments from 30 days to 15 days also doesn’t stand the scrutiny of facts.

While the single-judge order had set a deadline of 30 June 2026, which is around 2.5 months from the April ruling, the Division Bench made a 15-day deadline period modification only because that date had already passed during the pendency of the appeals.

This essentially means that the deadline for the state government to disburse DA to state employees was not reduced to 15 days but only adjusted to ensure that the government gets the requisite 30-day window.

If the court had set a fresh 30-day deadline, that would have meant allowing additional time beyond the fixed 30-day window to the state government, which would have translated into further delays in the release of an already much-delayed release of Dearness Allowance (DA).

Chronic delays by Punjab government in release of DA

Notably, Punjab had accepted the 6th Pay Commission recommendations 2021, adopting the Central Government’s pattern of deciding DA rates. The Punjab government released some instalments, reportedly reaching 42% in state rates and there have also been successive DA enhancements. However, the requisite full parity with All India Services officers, essentially central rates, was not maintained, and post 2022-2023, it remained staggered.

In February 2025, the AAP government approved a Liquidation Plan to pay the estimated Rs 14,191 crore DA/DR arrears in phased instalments over several years, up to 36 for employees and 42 for pensioners, without interest in many cases. The courts, however, quashed major parts of this plan as arbitrary and discriminatory.

Then, on 8th April 2026, a single-judge bench ordered a full release of pending DA/DR arrears at central rates by 30th June 2026, striking down the staggered plan.

In early August 2026, thousands of state government employees staged a protest in Chandigarh demanding payment of their pending DA arrears. Employees said that since the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann came to power in March 2022, it has only released one DA instalment of 4% for July-December 2022.

On 21st August, it has been reported that the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued contempt notices to the Punjab Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary and PSPCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director, over their alleged non-compliance with the court’s directions regarding the release of Dearness Allowance (DA).

Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was not ‘promoted’ as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 6th August

Saurav Das’s post claims that Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra was “promoted” as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 6th August 2026. However, on 6th August, the Supreme Court Collegium had “recommended” Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

As of 21st August 2026, Justice Mishra is still the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) of the Punjab and Haryana Court, and not yet ‘promoted’ as the Chief Justice, as claimed by CJP leader Saurav Das.

A formal issuance of the Central government’s notification and assumption of office as permanent CJ by Justice Mishra had not yet occurred. Therefore, Saurav Das’s “gets promoted as the Chief Justice” framing is imprecise.

Punjab’s struggling economy, AAP government’s prodigal advertisement spending, and Saurav Das’s ‘political’ outrage over judicial rulings and appointments

There is no doubt that Punjab is grappling with serious financial constraints. Punjab is facing high committed expenditures in the form of salaries and pensions, while around 70 to 85% of its revenue receipts are consumed by interest. The state has outstanding liabilities of around Rs 4.5 lakh crore, a debt-GSDP ratio around 44-46%, one of the highest in the country; in addition, the state is also struggling with revenue and fiscal deficits, and surging debt-servicing costs.

While Punjab’s plunge into the bottomless quagmire of economic crisis cannot solely be blamed on the AAP government, despite the financial challenges and dependence on borrowing, the AAP government doled out several freebies, including 300 units of free electricity.

Besides freebies, the AAP government in Punjab has also been accused of squandering taxpayers’ money, essentially the funds from the state exchequer for needless advertising and even for AAP’s electoral victory marches.

Back in April 2022, it was reported that AAP spent over Rs 14.63 lakh from the state exchequer for its electoral victory celebration march.

While the state’s financial health was worsening, the AAP government prioritised “image management” more than economic management. In March 2024, it was reported that the AAP government in Punjab spent Rs 7 crore in the Ludhiana district alone on promotions.

In October 2022, it was reported that the debt-ridden AAP government in Punjab spent over Rs 1.8 crore on Facebook ads, with over 77% in the then poll-bound Gujarat.

In 2025, an RTI reply revealed that over the last eight years, the Punjab government, with a notable portion under AAP, spent over Rs 1,500 crore on print and electronic advertisements.

Taking note of the AAP government’s misplaced priorities in terms of spending state funds, the High Court recently explicitly barred the Punjab government from running “large-scale advertising campaigns in print or social media” until the DA dues are cleared, calling them “unproductive expenditures” that in no way justify denying employees their legitimate dues.

The previous and the current AAP government failed to honour dues that became legally binding since the state adopted the Central DA pattern. Both employees and pensioners have waited through inflation and endured great difficulties to receive their legitimate dues. And yet, the AAP government prioritised advertisements and freebies while the DA of employees remained unpaid.

While Saurav Das claims that Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra ‘created’ Rs 20,000 crore liability for the AAP government, particularly to overburden it ahead of elections and to give ammo to the Opposition (BJP) to attack AAP Punjab, the court only enforced the state’s own policy commitments and is preventing indefinite deferral in DA/DR payments.

Instead of accusing the courts of acting at the behest of AAP’s political adversaries, the BJP specifically, Saurav Das should demand accountability from the AAP government.

However, how can the unofficial B-Team of AAP, the CJP, demand accountability from its own ideological overlord? Through its selective targeting of the BJP on paper leak and exam irregularities, and government school infrastructure issues, the CJP’s outrage and activism are reserved only for their one single bete noire, the BJP.

Interestingly, earlier this month AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had also made claims similar to the conspiracy theory Saurav Das is peddling now about Justice Mishra’s recommendation as permanent CJ, and Justice Sheel Nagu’s elevation to the Supreme Court. The liberal cabal has this shared penchant for casting aspersions on the integrity of everyone, be it the Election Commission, the judiciary, and even common voters, whose actions do not align with their whims.

The anti-BJP cabal first hated and villainised Justice Bela Trivedi and ex-CJI DY Chandrachud, and has now painted a target on the back of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Sheel Nagu.

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