New Delhi, Sept. 2 -- The Punjab government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order directing it to clear around Rs.14,191 crore in pending dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) dues to state employees and pensioners within a fortnight, arguing that the direction is not merely difficult to comply with but "constitutionally impossible". In its petition, filed through the additional chief secretary, finance, the state challenged the August 3 judgment directing payment of the dues at rates applicable to All India Services officers serving in Punjab. It said the high court had effectively ordered withdrawal of a massive amount from the state's Consolidated Fund without following the constitutionally prescribed procedure. "Compliance is not merely difficult; it is constitutionally impossible in the time allowed," said the plea, citing Article 266(3), which provides that no money can be withdrawn from a state's Consolidated Fund except in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 202 to 206 of the Constitution. The state has questioned the very basis for treating the DA rates applicable to central government employees and All India Services officers as the benchmark for Punjab government employees. It argued that the Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2021, do not prescribe any particular index, formula, rate or periodicity for determining DA and leave the matter to the state government's discretion. The government said All India Services officers were a fundamentally different category since their service conditions are governed by central law. Punjab merely pays them DA at the central rate because it has no power to determine their service conditions, it said. The state asked the Supreme Court to set aside the August 3 judgment and restore its discretion to determine the rate of DA and decide the manner and timeline for clearing the arrears....