The Punjab finance department on Monday issued a controversial order stating that all court orders in Punjab and Haryana High Court which require the state to bear any financial liability will require the prior approval of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the cabinet.

The order directed all departments to report all judgments delivered by Punjab and Haryana High Court which have directed to provide relief to government employees.

The orders were criticized by opposition MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who took to Twitter to term the orders as “a mockery of employees’ rights” and questioned “does the Punjab government think itself above the high court?”

Opposition parties accuse the government of economic mismanagement and of trying to keep government employees in poverty. Government employee unions have indicated that they will move the court against the state government for contempt of court.

The orders came after the Punjab government’s recent order to defer paying Dearness Allowance (DA) to its employees in line with central government guidelines was challenged in the August 3rd court by union leaders.

The government is now set to challenge the rulings before the Supreme Court