CAT quashes Chandigarh notification for paid maternity leave of 12 weeks

Tribune News Service

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, March 26

In one of the significant judgments, the Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has quashed the notification issued on January 24, 2013, by the Chandigarh Administration to grant maternity leave of 12 weeks with pay to female employees working on a contractual basis in various departments of the UT.

The Bench, comprising Rakesh Kumar Gupta and Hina P Shah, has pronounced the Judgment on the applications of the two contractual teachers, who challenged the order through counsel Ranjivan Singh while terming it discriminatory, arbitrary and in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

While allowing their applications, the CAT has directed the Administration to give them salary for 26-week maternity leave as was being done in the cases of all other regular employees.

Ranjivan Singh argued before the Bench that the applicants were granted maternity leave for 26 weeks in 2016, but they were paid salary for only 84 days. He said denying salary for the remaining days was unjustified and arbitrary.

The counsel for the Administration stated that the applicants had already been paid salary for 84 days for maternity leave in accordance with the notification of the Department of Personnel, Chandigarh Administration, issued on January 24, 2013. As per the notification, the Administration had decided to grant maternity leave of 12 weeks with pay to such female employees working on a contractual basis in various departments of the Chandigarh Administration, who have completed a minimum of one year of service successfully.

After hearing the arguments, the CAT said the applicants were entitled to full salary for the period, which was duly sanctioned by the authorities.

“We do not agree with the submissions of the respondents that contractual teachers are entitled only for 84-day salary of maternity leave as per the policy of the Chandigarh Administration as the said policy itself is illegal, arbitrary and in violation of the Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Later, the Administration came up with a policy dated January 30, 2018 to grant maternity leave of 26 weeks with pay to female employees working on a contractual basis in various departments of the Administration. In present case, the applicants are entitled to the sanctioned maternity leave with pay in accordance with rules as applicable to regular teachers. Thus, the respondents are directed to release full salary for the period which the applicants availed of duly sanctioned maternity leave,” said the order.

The Bench further said in view of the above-made observations, the impugned notification dated January 24, 2013 was quashed and set aside.

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