ORDER :

CMP No.11621 of 2021.

For the reasons stated in the application, the amendment as prayed for, is allowed. Application stands disposed of.

Amended writ petition is taken on record.

CWP No. 1675 of 2021.

The instant petition has been filed for grant of the following substantive reliefs:-

“(i) That the Notification dated 07.03.2012 (Annexure PA-1 substituted as Annexure P-7A may very kindly be quashed and set aside.

(ii) That the action of the respondents to deny maternity leave/Child Care Leave to the petitioner and order of recovery dated 08.02.2021 may be held illegal, wrong and respondents may be directed to pay the petitioner the payment for the period of 13.06.2020 to 25.09.2020 with the interest rate of 9% Annum on the account of recoveries made with all Consequential Benefits.

(iii) That the respondents may very kindly be directed to treat the period from 13.06.2020 to 25.09.2020 as a Service Period.

(iv) That the petitioner may also be held entitled for child care leave.”

2. The undisputed facts are that the petitioner adopted a female child on 11.03.2020, who was born on 25.02.2020.

3. Now, the moot question is whether the petitioner can claim the benefit of maternity leave of 180 days in terms of Section 43 of the CCS (Leave) Rules, which is reproduced as under:-

“43. Maternity Leave:

(1) A female Government servant (including an apprentice) with less than two surviving children may be granted maternity leave by an authority competent to grant leave for a period of 1 [180 days] from the date of its commencement.

(2) During such period, she shall be paid leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.

NOTE:- In the case of a person to whom Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (34 of 1948), applies, the amount of leave salary payable under this rule shall be reduced by the amount of benefit payable under the said Act for the corresponding period.

2 [(3) Maternity leave not exceeding 45 days may also be granted to a female Government servant (irrespective of the number of surviving children) during the entire service of that female Government servant in case of miscarriage including abortion on production of medical certificate as laid down in Rule 19:

Provided that the maternity leave granted and availed of before the commencement of the CCS (Leave) Amendment Rules, 1995, shall not be taken into account for the purpose of this sub-rule.]

(4) (a) Maternity leave may be combined with leave of any other kind.

(b) Notwithstanding the requirement of production of medical certificate contained in sub-rule (1) of Rule 30 or sub-rule (1) of Rule 31, leave of the kind due and admissible (including commuted leave for a period not exceeding 60 days and leave not due) upto a maximum of 1 [two years] may, if applied for, be granted in continuation of maternity leave granted under sub-rule (1).

(5) Maternity leave shall not be debited against the leave account.”

4. Somewhat an identical issue came up before this Court in CWP No. 4509 of 2020, titled Sushma Devi versus State of Himachal Pradesh and others, decided on 04.03.2021, regarding entitlement of maternity leave to surrogacy parents and while dealing with this issue, the question of maternity leave to the adoptive mother was also considered in para-8 of the judgment, referred supra, which reads as under:-

“8. Once, the respondents admit that the minor child is that of the petitioner, then she is entitled to the leave akin to the persons, who are granted leave in terms of the rules (ibid). The purpose of the said rules is for proper bonding between the child and parents. Even, in the case of adoption, the adoptive mother does not give birth to the child, yet the necessity of bonding of the mother with the adopted child has been recognized by the Central Government.”

5. This issue has been considered in detail by the learned Single Judge of the Delhi High Court in Rama Pandey versus Union of India and others 2015 Labour Industrial Cases 3921 wherein it was held that t