Overview
- Granting relief to guest faculty member Dr Priti Saket, the court set aside a 2023 order that had stripped her maternity leave of pay and directed authorities to extend statutory benefits.
- The bench held that Section 5(2) of the Maternity Benefit Act, which requires 80 days of work in the prior year, does not apply to establishments run by the state government.
- Justice Vishal Dhagat found that the Act covers government institutions under its broad definition of “establishment,” while the MP Civil Services Leave Rules do not apply to contractual guest faculty.
- The court ordered payment for the statutory 26-week maternity period under the Act, and clarified that any leave beyond that window counts as unpaid leave.
- Invoking Directive Principles on welfare and health, the judgment may spur similar claims from temporary staff in government colleges and offices and could prompt administrative policy changes.