The petitioner said that under the Maternity Benefit Act, a woman has the right to take maternity leave before and after the birth of a child. It is a law passed by the Parliament.
Digital Desk: In one of its significant decisions, the Allahabad High Court ruled that mothers cannot be denied maternity leave after the birth of a child.
Even after the birth of a child, a woman is entitled to maternity leave under the law. The court ruled that maternity leave and leave for child care are two distinct leaves. Both can be taken together. It is wrong to reject maternity leave on the pretext that the kid has already been born. The appeal to overturn decisions made by Respondent No. 4, District Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Etah, whereby and where the permission for maternity leave has been refused, was being heard by the Justice Ashutosh Srivastava panel.
The petitioner in this case is enrolled as the primary school's headmistress. The terms of the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education (Teachers) Service Rules, 1981, govern the petitioner's working circumstances.
The petitioner gave birth to a girl, and as soon as she was released from the hospital, she asked for maternity leave to last from October 18, 2022, to April 15, 2023. (for 180 days). However, it was denied because the annexures supporting maternity leave were incomplete.
The petitioner then reapplied for maternity leave on October 30, 2022, using the required form. Surprisingly, the District Basic Education Officer rejected this application on November 4 and November 25, 2022, with the comments that "ML is not allowed after childbirth and now you are eligible for CLL according to rule" and "for ML out of date. now you can apply for CCL," respectively. The bench emphasised that the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 was passed to protect women's entitlement to pregnancy and maternity leave and to give them the most freedom possible to live independently, both as mothers and workers if they so choose.
According to the petitioner, a woman has the right to maternity leave both before and after giving birth to a child under the Maternity Benefit Act. It is a law that the Parliament has approved. The bench stated that the District Basic Education Officer, Etah while rejecting the claim of the petitioner has overlooked the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
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