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2026 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 4430
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
M.S. Latif, Judicial Member
Nazira Shaban – Appellant
Versus
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir – Respondent
O.A 261/2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Ms. Sana via virtual mode vice Mr. M.I.Dar
For the Respondents: MR. SYED MUSAIB – DAG
Mandatory timely decision on eligible Child Care Leave applications under service rules, protecting Art.21 rights.
Headnote:The applicant, a staff nurse with over eleven years of unblemished service, sought Child Care Leave under Rule 41-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1979, following initial earned leave application. Respondents failed to decide the application timely, leading to prior proceedings where directions for a speaking order were issued but not complied with. Court finds applicant eligible with no recorded reasons for denial. Issues framed include enforcement of statutory leave rules and protection of rights under Art.21. Ratio emphasizes mandatory decision-making on representations without arbitrary denial, upholding procedural fairness in public service leave approvals. O.A disposed directing respondents to consider representations and issue speaking order within four weeks.
O R D E R
M.S.LATIF, M (J) oral
01/ Through the medium of this petition, the petitioner has sought the following reliefs :
“ That this Hon'ble Tribunal may be pleased to direct the respondents to grant/sanction Child Care Leave in favour of the applicant for a period of six months, strictly in accordance with Rule 41-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1979 as amended with further direction that pending final disposal of the present Original Application, respondents be directed to take a final decision on the applicant's claim for grant of Child Care Leave, strictly in accordance with Rule 41-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1979.
02/ What can be gathered from a cursory look into the petition, is that the petitioner, who is a Staff Nurse with an unblemished service record of more than eleven years and the mother of a 19- month-old child requiring constant care, has been denied the Child Care Leave by the respondents. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner had initially applied for Earned Leave followed by Child Care Leave vide application dated 31.01.2026 but the respondents failed to take any decision in the matter. As a result, she submitted a representation before the TARIQ respondents on 19.02.2026. It is further submitted that the in-action on the part of the respondents to take a decision in the matter compelled the petitioner to approach this Hon'ble Tribunal by medium of O.A. No. 154/2026, which was disposed of on 27.02.2026 with a direction to the respondents to decide her case by passing a speaking order within a stipulated time. However, in clear violation of the said direction, the respondents neither passed any written or reasoned order nor complied with the mandate of law and instead informally conveyed through a telephonic communication that her Child Care Leave has not been approved.
03/ Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the applicant, being fully eligible under Rule 41-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1979 as amended and there being no recorded reason or administrative exigency for denial of her leave, she has been compelled to file the instant O.A, seeking appropriate directions for grant of Child Care Leave and enforcement of her statutory and constitutional rights.
04/ What can be further gathered from the pleadings made in the petition is that the petitioner was appointed as Staff Nurse at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar, pursuant to an open, transparent and merit-based selection process under OM Category vide Government Order No. 18-SKIMS of 2015 dated 29.05.2015. It is submitted that since her joining in May 2015, she has rendered more than eleven years of uninterrupted service in a premier tertiary healthcare institution catering to critical and super speciality cases and her record has remained absolutely unblemished throughout her career as no disciplinary proceedings have ever been initiated against her and no adverse remarks, warnings, censures, or penalties have ever been recorded in her service dossier. It is further submitted that during the periods of heightened institutional pressure, including public health exigencies, emergency duties, COVID-19 Pandemic, high patient influx, and extended shifts, she has performed her responsibilities without protest or reservation, keeping patient care and institutional discipline above personal considerations.
05/ Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the husband of the petitioner is presently serving as a doctor outside the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, which has compelled her to single-handedly manage both her professional responsibilities and childcare obligations, resulting in considerable personal, emotional and logistical hardship, as such, she submitted a formal leave application dated 31.01.2026 before the competent authority, seeking sanction of Earned Leave for one month w.e.f. 23.02.2026; and the
