Uttarakhand government staff can get maternity leave for 3rd child

Nainital: Calling it “unconstitutional”, the Uttarakhand high court has struck down a state government rule that denies maternity leave to its women employees for the birth of their third child. The court said the second provision of Fundamental Rule 153 of the Uttar Pradesh Fundamental Rules, as adopted by Uttarakhand, was against both the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and Article 42 of the Constitution, which provides for “just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief ”.

The high court passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Urmila Masih, a government nurse who was denied maternity leave for six months from June 20, 2015 on the grounds that she already had two children. The court directed the government that the resident of Haldwani be paid the entire salary for the leave she had to avail in 2015 after maternity leave was denied to her.