Overview
- The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench set aside a department’s April 4 order that refused a woman a second maternity leave.
- Justice Karunesh Singh Pawar directed officials to grant petitioner Manisha Yadav leave from April 6 to October 2, 2026.
- The state had relied on Rule 153(1) of Uttar Pradesh’s Financial Handbook, which requires a two-year gap between two maternity leaves.
- The judge held that the Maternity Benefit Act, a national law that protects pregnant employees, overrides executive instructions in the handbook.
- Citing the Anupam Yadav precedent, the court signaled that similar denials for Uttar Pradesh government staff may need to be reconsidered.