Chandigarh, Oct. 7 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday directed Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha to explain why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for making a "prima facie false statement" in the ongoing dearness allowance (DA) case. A bench, comprising chief justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rohit Kapoor, passed the order in Sinha's presence. The action followed revelations that the Punjab government's appeal remains lodged with defects before the Supreme Court, directly contradicting Sinha's Monday statement that a fresh appeal had been filed after curing all defects. The directive came during a hearing on two applications filed by Punjab government employees and pensioners. P2...