IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision:06.03.2026 JYOTSNA SINGH …Petitioner(s)

Versus STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS …Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TRIBHUVAN DAHIYA Present:- Mr. Kanwal Goyal, Advocateand Ms. Shruti Jain Goyal, Advocate with Ms. Anagya Chauhan, Advocate for the petitioner.

Ms. Tanushree Gupta, Senior Deputy Advocate General, Haryana.

TRIBHUVAN DAHIYA, J. (Oral)

The petition has been filed, inter alia, seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to grant Child Care Leave (CCL) to the petitioner from 20.02.2026 to 09.04.2026.

2. Learned counsel contended that the petitioner applied for CCL vide application dated 27.11.2025, Annexure P-11, from 01.01.2026 to 09.04.2026. The Department, however, granted CCL only for thirty days from 01.01.2026 to 30.01.2026, vide office order dated 29.12.2025, Annexure P-13. Since the petitioner’s son is appearing for Class 12^th (non-medical) examination and her husband is presently posted at Sirsa, she wished to remain with her son during the examination and submitted another application dated 19.01.2026, Annexure P-14, seeking CCL for another sixty-nine days, 31.01.2026 to 09.04.2026, which has not been accepted. He has also relied upon the judgment dated 10.10.2017, rendered by this Court in CWP-21506- 2017 titled Dr. Kanchan Bala v. State of Haryana and others, to contend that the petitioner is entitled to leave in terms of the law laid down therein.

3. Learned State counsel has received instructions from the second respondent/Director General, Higher Education, vide memo dated 06.03.2026, which is retained on the case file as Annexure ‘A’. She referred to the following part of the instructions:

1. Dr. Jyotsana Singh has already availed 135 days of Child Care Leave (CCL) during the academic session 2025-2026.

2. She has been regularly availing CCL for the past seven years. Prior to this, she had also availed study leave. The frequent and prolonged absence has adversely affected the academic functioning of the department (Letter of Principal and copy of orders attached at Annexure-'A').

3. She is the sole faculty member in the Department of Political Science. In the interest of the students and to ensure the smooth conduct of the complete academic session, granting further CCL at this stage would neither be appropriate nor academically feasible. The workload statement for the subject of Political Science is enclosed herewith (Annexure-'B').

In this regard, it is also submitted that the competent authority has sanctioned Child Care Leave from 01.01.2026 to 30.01.2026. Further, it is also mentioned that Child Care Leave is not a matter of right and it is given to take care of child's urgent needs and she has already availed 655 days of Child Care Leave till date.

4. Heard.

5. It is evident on record that the petitioner has been granted CCL by the Department from time to time and has already availed 655 days leave so far, of which 135 days is in the current admission session. Considering her latest application also, the Department allowed her CCL for thirty days from 01.01.2026 to 30.01.2026. The grant of further leave has not been considered feasible keeping in view the adverse effect it would have on the academic functioning of the Department of Political Science, where the petitioner is working as lone faculty member. Her primary duty is to teach. This, undoubtedly, is to be balanced with her responsibilities towards her minor child, for which CCL has been provided. But availing such leave is not an absolute right; Rule 46 of the Haryana Civil Service (Leave) Rules, 2016, itself underlines thus. It reads as under:

46. Grant of child care leave -

A competent authority may grant child care leave to a woman Government employee subject to following conditions:-

(1) xxx xxx xxx (2) Child care leave shall not be demanded as a matter of right and no one can, under any circumstances, proceed on child care leave without prior proper sanction of the lea