Smt. Rachana Bala vs State Of U.P. And 3 Others
2023 Latest Caselaw 10254 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
 
 

?Court No. - 34
 

 
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 5566 of 2023
 

 
Petitioner :- Smt. Rachana Bala
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Vimal Kumar
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 

 
Hon'ble Ajit Kumar,J.

Heard Sri Ravi Prakash, learned counsel holding brief of Sri Vimal Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State respondents.

By means of the present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the order dated 16.3.2023 whereby her application seeking maternity leave came to be rejected by the Assistant Deputy Director, School Education on the ground that the second maternity leave cannot be granted within two years of the first maternity leave.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that this controversy of maintainability of second maternity leave within two years as prescribed for under Section 3(h) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 has come to be considered by a coordinate Bench of this Court in Service Single No.32394 of 2019 titled as Smt. Richa Shukla v. State of U.P. and others decided on 11.12.2019. In the said judgment, the Court discussed the legal issues and finally allowed the writ petition quashing the orders impugned therein, whereby the maternity leave application in the said case was rejected being within two years of the first maternity leave.

Since there is no other reason assigned in the order impugned except that the second maternity leave could not have been granted within two years of the first maternity leave, the same cannot be sustained in view of the ratio laid down by the coordinate Bench of this Court in Smt. Richa Shukla's case (supra). It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the aforesaid judgment is still holding the field.

Learned Standing Counsel could not dispute the submissions as made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and that there is no other factual controversy involved in the present case.

In view of the above, there is no point in asking for the counter affidavit.

The order impugned cannot be sustained in view of the judgment of a coordinate Bench of this Court in Smt. Richa Shukla's case (supra). Thus, order dated 16.3.2023 passed by the authority concerned is hereby quashed. The authorities concerned are directed to grant maternity leave to the petitioner.

With the aforesaid observations, the writ petition stands allowed.

Order Date :- 7.4.2023

Kuldeep