Chandigarh, Oct. 13 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday sought a formal response from the Punjab government on a criminal contempt petition initiated against chief secretary KAP Sinha for making a "prima facie false statement" in the ongoing dearness allowance (DA) case of Punjab employees and pensioners.

On October 9, the bench of chief justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rohit Kapoor had referred the matter to contempt court observing, " "This court is enjoined with the task of ensuring that the majesty of the court is not compromised in any manner. Even suggestions questioning the propriety in conduct of court proceedings must be dealt with carefully".

The matter was placed before the bench of justice Vinod S Bhardwaj...