No maternity leave for birth of third child rules Uttarakhand HC
The Uttarakhand High Court has passed a major order regarding the Maternity Benefit Act. Accepting a special appeal of the state government, the division bench headed by the Chief Justice has quashed the order of single Bench to grant leave for women in third child also under the Maternity Benefit Act. After the court order, now women working in the state services will not get leave under the Maternity Benefit Act if they have a third child.
Haldwani resident nurse Urmila Masih filed a petition in the High Court when she was not given benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act during the birth of her third child. Citing the rules in the petition, the nurse said that the government’s rule violates the clause 153 of Article 42 of the Constitution and Section 27 of the Maternity Benefit Act. On Tuesday, in the bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma, CSC Paresh Tripathi, on behalf of the government, said that Article-42 part of the constitution, ie, is included in the Directive Elements of Part Four, which cannot be petitioned to implement. After hearing the case, the bench rejected the order of the single bench accepting the government’s special appeal. After the court order, now women employed in the services of the state will not get leave benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act after two children.
