Working mother's eligible for maternity leave even after birth of a child, Allahabad HC passes landmark verdict

The Allahabad High Court in one of its important decisions has said that maternity leave cannot be denied after the birth of a child. Under the law, a woman has the right to get maternity leave even after the birth of a child. The court said that both maternity leave and child care leave are different leaves. Both can also be taken together. It is wrong to deny maternity leave on the ground that the child has already been born. The bench of Justice Ashutosh Srivastava was dealing with the petition for quashing the orders passed by Respondent No.4, District Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Etah whereby and where under the sanction of maternity leave has been turned down. In this case,  the petitioner is posted as Headmistress at Primary School. The service conditions of the petitioner are governed by the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Basic Education (Teachers) Service Rules, 1981.

The petitioner gave birth to a girl child and after discharge from the hospital, she immediately applied for maternity leave for the period 18.10.2022 to 15.4.2023 (for 180 days). But the same was rejected on the ground that annexures in support of maternity leave were incomplete. Thereafter, the petitioner again applied for maternity leave on 30.10.2022 on the prescribed proforma, but surprisingly the same has been rejected by the District Basic Education Officer, on 4.11.2022 and 25.11.2022 with remarks that “after childbirth ML is not allowed and now you are eligible for CLL according to rule” and “for ML out of date. now you can apply for CCL,” respectively. The bench noted that the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was enacted to secure women’s right to pregnancy and maternity leave and to afford women with as much flexibility as possible to live an autonomous life, both as a mother and as a worker if they so desire. The petitioner said that under the Maternity Benefit Act, a woman has the right to take maternity leave before and after the birth of a child. It is a law passed by the Parliament. The bench stated that the District Basic Education Officer, Etah while rejecting the claim of the petitioner has overlooked the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961