Orissa HC: Woman contractual employee cannot be denied maternity leave, benefits
The court was hearing a case concerning Anindita Mishra, who was recruited on a contractual basis by the state government in May 2014. She had applied for six months of maternity leave after giving birth to a baby girl in August 2016. Despite submitting the necessary medical certificates, the state government rejected her request, stating that maternity benefits were not applicable to contractual employees.
A division bench comprising Justices Dixit Krishna Shripad and Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo observed, 'Because of various reasons, including poverty & illiteracy, women come out of their home and gain entry to the employment, be it public, private, contractual or otherwise, as a source of livelihood. State cannot provide public employment to everyone. It could have been ideal, if it could provide. Naturally, employment in the private sector looms large. Our Smrutikaaraas chanted 'yatr naaryaastu pujyante ramante tatr devatah', literally meaning that Gods rejoice where women are honoured. Such ideal things should animate the purposive interpretation of state policy concerning the welfare of women.'
A single-judge bench had ruled in her favour in 2022, holding that she was unjustly denied the benefit and directing the state government to grant her maternity leave. However, the state government filed an appeal before a larger bench.
Upholding the earlier order, the division bench of the Orissa High Court affirmed that the appellant authorities are obligated to grant maternity leave to the respondent.
'A welfare state cannot be heard to say that a policy of the kind has to be kept away regardless of its socio-welfare object to serve all classes of persons employed in the State, whatever be the nature of such engagement,' the court said.
The HC cited provisions under Article 10(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which focuses on special protection and assistance that should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth.
'The idea of maternity leave is structured on 'zero separation' between lactating mother and breast feeding baby... A lactating mother has a fundamental right to breastfeed her baby during its formative years. Similarly, a baby has a fundamental right to be breastfed and brought about in a reasonably good condition,' the bench said.
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