India, Oct. 11 -- State counsel offers unconditional apology as applicants allege contempt over a disputed affidavit on Supreme Court appeal.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed proceedings concerning alleged non-compliance with its orders in the dearness allowance (DA) case, including allegations of prima facie criminal contempt against Punjab Chief Secretary K A P Sinha, be placed before the bench assigned to hear contempt matters under the court's roster.

The direction came after senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the Punjab government, submitted that the Chief Secretary had no deliberate intention to make a false statement regarding the removal of defects in the state government's special leave petition (SLP...