ORDER :

“I chose motherhood ; the State chose to terminate me”, is the plea of the petitioner, lamenting that, the pendulum of her fate swung from the buoyance of hope to the fatigue of despair as she is terminated on the score that she opted to become a mother and had sought maternity leave.

2. Shorn of unnecessary details, facts material for consideration of the lis are as follows:

The second respondent issued a notification inviting applications for the post of Project Information Officer on contract basis. Petitioner finding herself eligible applied, selected and was appointed as Project Information Officer on contract basis for a consolidated pay of Rs.17,000/-along with the traveling allowance of Rs.2,000/-per month with effect from 27.11.2009. The contract was being renewed from time to time on an annual basis and the latest of the renewal of such contract was on 01.04.2019 to be in operation upto 31.03.2020. The petitioner is thus in service for 10 years now albeit on contract basis.

3. During the subsistence of the aforesaid period of contract, the petitioner by an application dated 11.06.2019, sought for maternity leave. On the application given by the petitioner, a notice wa