‘Maternity Leave is a Basic Human Right’: Orissa HC

The Orissa High Court recently emphasized that maternity leave is a basic human right and its denial would be an affront to the dignity of female employees.

A single bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra held that maternity leave holds a unique status and cannot be equated with other types of leave. It is an inherent right for every woman employee and cannot be denied on technical grounds.

The Court asserted that denying maternity leave would go against the natural process and would be a violation of a woman’s dignity as an individual. Such denial would also infringe upon her fundamental right to life, as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, which has been interpreted to encompass a life with dignity.

The bench referred to the Supreme Court’s observations in Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll) and another, wherein the top court emphasized the need to honor and treat women with dignity in their workplaces.

While those remarks in the Supreme Court case were related to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the Orissa High Court opined that such observations are equally applicable to women employees not covered under the Act.

The case before the Court involved a writ petition filed by a teacher working in an aided girls’ high school in Keonjhar district. The teacher had applied for and taken maternity leave in 2013. Although she rejoined work in December 2013 and the school headmaster accepted her joining report and fitness certificate, the District Education Officer at Keonjhar refused to sanction her maternity leave. The officer cited the absence of specific leave rules applicable to the school employees.

Undeterred, the teacher filed a writ petition seeking relief.

The District Education Officer opposed the writ petition, arguing that the Grant-In-Aid Orders of 1994 and 2013, along with the Odisha Education Recruitment and Conditions of Service and Staff of Aided Educational Institutions Rules, 1974, did not address the issue of maternity leave.

The officer also asserted that the provisions of the Odisha Service Code pertaining to maternity leave were only applicable to regular government servants and not to employees of block grant high schools.

The single bench, however, rejected these arguments and ordered the District Education Officer to sanction the teacher’s maternity leave within four weeks.