JUDGMENT :

ALOK MATHUR, J.

1. Heard Sri Anurag Shukla along with Sri Abhishek Misra and Ms. Ishit Mishra, Advocates for the petitioner and Sri Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, learned Additional Chief Standing counsel appearing for the opposite parties.

2. The petitioner, who is working on the post of Lecturer (Hindi) in Rajkiya Balika Inter College, Hardoi, is aggrieved by the impugned order dated 30.07.2019 whereby her application for maternity leave from 18.11.2018 to 16.5.2019 has been rejected on the ground that she had previously availed maternity leave which ended on 18.5.2018, which was a period less than 2 years and hence was not entitled for the same.

3. It has been submitted by the counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner after expecting a child had applied for maternity leave for a period of 174 days from 26.11.2017 to 18.5.21018 which was duly sanctioned and the petitioner gave birth to a baby boy on 29.1.2018, but unfortunately the newborn child passed away due to cardio respiratory arrest on 30.1.2018, just a day after his birth.

4. The petitioner again conceived for the second time and applied for maternity leave for a period of 24 weeks from 18.11.2018 to 16.05.2019, whi