The court said that the grant of maternity leave is intended to encourage women to join and continue work.
The apex court was hearing a plea of the woman, working as a nurse at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, who was denied maternity leave for her only biological child on the ground that she had two children from her husband’s previous marriage and had earlier availed the leave to take care of one of them after the death of his first wife.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 16 August, held that a working woman cannot be denied her statutory right to maternity leave for her biological child only because her husband has two children from previous marriage and she had availed the leave to take care of one of them.
The top court said that the grant of maternity leave is intended to encourage women to join and continue in the workplace but it is a matter of harsh reality that despite such provisions, women are compelled to leave their place of work on the birth of a child since they are not granted leave and other facilitative measures.
According to rules, a female employee with less than two surviving children can seek maternity leave.
A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna said that childbirth has to be construed in the context of employment as a natural aspect of the life of the working women and the provisions under the law must be construed in that perspective.
The court said the rules on maternity benefits are formulated in terms of the provisions of Article 15 of the Constitution under which the State can adopt a provision for the protection of the interest of the women.
Unless a purposive interpretation is adopted, the object and intent of grant of maternity leave would be completely defeated, it said.
“It is a matter of harsh reality that despite such provisions women are compelled to leave their place of work on the birth of a child, since they are not granted leave and other facilitative measures… “Childbirth has to be construed in the context of employment as a natural aspect of the life of the working women. Hence, the provision which has been made should be construed in that perspective,” the bench said.
Source : The Quint
