Maternity leave for 3rd child: Topofficials face contempt of court

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 18

The Haryana Government is in the dock for displaying “insensitivity” in providing maternity leave benefits to its women employees for birth of the third child.

Rapping the Haryana Government for its “defiant attitude”, Justice Deepak Sibal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today put its Additional Chief Secretary and Director, Elementary Education, on contempt notice after taking suo motu cognisance of the state’s failure to take court orders with “much seriousness”.

The development is significant on at least two counts: Firstly, the High Court has made it clear that maternity leave benefits cannot be denied for the birth of the third child despite the adamant stand taken by the state government. Secondly, the High Court order comes as a stern warning to government officers that non-compliance with judicial pronouncements would leave them facing suo motu proceedings under the Contempt of Court Act.

In his order, Justice Sibal issued notice to Additional Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora and RS Kharb, Director, Elementary Education.They have been asked to explain “why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 be not initiated against them”.

The genesis

The difficulties for the authorities concerned have their genesis in an order passed by the High Court in the case of Ruksana versus the state of Haryana and other respondents. The petitioner in the case was denied the benefits for the birth of the third child on the basis of PCS Rules applicable to Haryana.

A Division Bench ruled the offending “note” in the rules was not in consonance with the Maternity Benefit Act and directed the payment of benefits. A special leave petition filed by the state against the judgment was subsequently withdrawn.

In a subsequent case by Krishna Devi, the High Court minced no words to say that such like cases were being filed though the law on the issue had finally been settled. The court also asked a Secretary to sensitise the authorities concerned so that “similarly placed employees were not forced to knock at the doors of the court”.

The trouble

Taking up a petition filed by Chitra Rani against the state and other respondents, Justice Sibal asserted apparently the High Court observations had not been taken with as “much seriousness as they ought to have been”.

Allowing Chitra Rani’s plea, Justice Sibal directed the respondents to release salary as maternity leave benefit.