Orissa High Court Affirms Maternity Leave Rights for Contractual Employees

Significant Ruling on Maternity Leave

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has recently upheld a three-year-old ruling that mandates maternity leave and related benefits for women employed on a contractual basis, rejecting a writ appeal from the state government.

In this recent decision, the Division Bench, comprising Justices Dixit Krishna Shripad and Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo, confirmed the August 2022 judgment made by a single-judge Bench. This earlier ruling favored a contractual employee from the Health and Family Welfare Department, whose request for maternity leave from August 17, 2016, to February 12, 2017, had been denied.

The state government contested the previous ruling, arguing that the employee was not entitled to maternity benefits due to her contractual status.

However, the Division Bench dismissed this argument, supporting the rationale of the single-judge ruling.

The court highlighted that maternity leave with pay or equivalent social benefits should be guaranteed by the state, referencing India's commitments to international agreements like the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The judges underscored the importance of maternity and the essential role both parents play in raising children.

The judgment stated, 'It is said that God could not be everywhere and therefore, he created mothers.' It emphasized that maternity leave is designed to ensure 'zero separation' between a breastfeeding mother and her child.

The court also referred to insights from child psychiatrists and obstetricians, noting that the physical presence of a mother is crucial for the child's healthy development and bonding.

'A lactating mother has a fundamental right to breastfeed her baby during its formative years. Likewise, the baby has a fundamental right to be breastfed and nurtured in a suitable environment. These rights create the state's obligation to provide maternity benefits, including paid leave, within its available resources,' the court stated.

Additionally, the Bench cited previous Supreme Court and High Court rulings affirming that contractual employees are entitled to maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961.

The court rejected the state government's claim that only regular female civil servants qualify for maternity leave, asserting that 'women employees, for the purpose of availing such benefits, form a single class, and any artificial division based on appointment status violates Article 14 of the Constitution.'