Point of Law : According to Article 42 of Constitution of India, “State is required to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief”.

JUDGMENT :

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.

Right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India includes the right to mother and to become a mother is the most natural phenomena in the life of a woman. Therefore, whatever is needed to facilitate the birth of her child to a woman, who is in service, the employer has to be considerate and sympathetic towards her, must realise the physical difficulties, which a working woman faced in performing duties at the work place while carrying a baby in the womb or while rearing up the child after birth (See: Municipal Corporation of Delhi vs. Female Workers (Muster Roll) & Anr. 2000 (3) SCC).

2. Aggrieved by the order passed by the H.P. Administrative Tribunal (for short the 'Tribunal') whereby the respondent was granted the benefit of deemed maternity leave and thereafter consequential benefit of conferment of workcharge status on completion of 8 years service, the employer-State has filed the instant petition for the grant of following substantive reliefs:-

(i) That the order dated 21.11.2018 passed by the State Administrative Tribunal in the Original Application (D) No. 322 of 2018 may kindly be quashed and set aside.

(ii) That the medical certificate of the respondent submitted after 20 years may not be considered for the period of maternity leave as continuous service.

3. It is not in dispute that the respondent had been engaged on daily wage basis and the detail of working days spanning over two decades of service, is as under :

Detail of working days in respect of Smt. Sita Devi, wi/o Sh. Krishan Kant, District Kangra (H.P.)

4. It is also not in dispute that in the year 1996, respondent was carrying a child in her womb, which she delivered on 30.05.1996 and after availing maternity leave w.e.f. 01.06.1996 to 31.08.1996 i.e. only 3 months, the respondent assumed duties and it is only on account of pregnancy and subsequent delivery that the respondent could only put in 156 days as against the minimum requirement of 240 days in a year.

5. The learned Tribunal took these facts into account and thereafter proceeded to pass the following order:-

5. The ailment of the applicant forced her to be away from her work. Her period of maternity leave would be deemed to be continuous service in view of the provisions of Section 25(B) (1) of the Industrial Dispute Act, which reads as under:-

25(B) (1) a workman shall be said to be in continuous service for a period if he is, for that period, in uninterrupted service, including service which may be interrupted on account of sickness or authorised leave or an accident or a strike which is not illegal, or a lock-out or a cessation of work which is not due to any fault on the part of the workman;

6. The instructions to the contra that the benefit of deemed continuous service is only available to the indoor patient in violation of express provision is nonest. The applicant on account of deemed continuous service completed 8 years of service upto the 01.01.2002.

7. Consequently, the original application is allowed and the period of maternity leave of the applicant is deemed to be as continuous service and the respondents are directed to consider the case of the applicant for conferment of work charge status on completion of 8 years service within two months from today. The actual financial benefits shall be restricted to three years prior to filing of the original application. The applicant s