IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: 06.03.2025 Asha .... Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others ... Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TRIBHUVAN DAHIYA Present: Mr. Robin Singh Hooda, Advocate, for the petitioner.

Ms. Tanushree Gupta, DAG, Haryana.

TRIBHUVAN DAHIYA, J. (ORAL)

The petition has been filed seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to grant maternity leave of six months to the petitioner with immediate effect.

2. Briefly, as per facts on record, the petitioner was appointed as Stenographer on contract basis at D.C. rates in Community Medicine Department of Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Mewat, on 19.04.2019. Keeping in view her work and conduct, the service contract was extended from time to time. Later, she was deployed in the College through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (for short, ‘the Nigam’) vide deployment letter dated 04.05.2022, Annexure P-2. She is a married lady having two children. As she was expecting her third child, she applied for and was granted maternity leave from 04.11.2024 to 26.01.2025, i.e., eighty-four days, vide office order dated 05.11.2024, Annexure P-3. She thereafter represented to the College seeking extension of maternity leave for six months vide representation dated 25.01.2025, Annexure P-4. Getting no response thereto, she filed the instant petition claiming entitlement to maternity leave for 180 days in terms of Rule 8.127(a) of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, Volume-I, Part-I (as applicable to the State of Haryana).

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has contended that the petitioner is entitled to maternity leave of six months in terms of the law laid down by this Court in Babita v. State of Haryana and others, 2018(3) PLR

810.

4. Learned State counsel, on the contrary, contends that the petitioner has been deployed in the Medical College through the Nigam. Her request for maternity leave for the third child was received on 04.11.2024, conveying her expected date of delivery as 16.11.2024. In terms of the Deployment of Contractual Persons Policy, 2022 (for short, ‘Policy of 2022’), applicable to all employees deployed through the Nigam, female contractual employees are entitled to maternity leave admissible under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (for short, ‘the Act of 1961’), which provides for twelve weeks’ (84 days) maternity leave for the third child which has already been granted and availed of by the petitioner from 04.11.2024 to 26.01.2025. There is no provision for grant of maternity leave for six months, and the claim to that effect need not be considered.

5. Heard.

6. Undisputed facts on record are, the petitioner was deployed as Stenographer in the Medical College through the Nigam, and was granted maternity leave of twelve weeks (84 days) for her third child with effect from 04.11.2024 to 26.01.2025. The employees deployed through the Nigam are entitled to leave in terms of the Policy of 2022; clause 7.3. whereof reads as under:

7.3. Entitlement of Leave: The persons deployed under this policy shall, in addition to public holidays, restricted holidays and minimum one day off per week, be entitled to avail one day casual leave and one day medical leave during each calendar month subject to maximum 10 days casual leave and 10 days medical leave during a calendar year. Female contractual persons shall also be entitled to maternity leave admissible under the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961.

Accordingly, being female contractual employee she is entitled to maternity leave as per provisions of the Act of 1961, which clearly stipulates that maximum period of maternity benefit by a woman having two or more living children shall be twelve weeks. The relevant part of Section 5(3) of the Act of 1961 reads as under:

5. Right to payment of maternity benefits.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefi