No Discrimination Must Be Made Between Regularised And Non-Regularised Government Staff While Granting Maternity Leave: Madras HC

PLEA BEFORE THE COURT

• Advocate C Rajaguru filed a petition before Madras High Court with the plea to provide maternity leave uniformly by the government to both regularised, contractual and non-regularised women government servants.
• The pea stated that information in form of RTI queries has shown that only regularised employees of the health department were given leave as per the relevant government.
• It also mentioned that non-regularised and those employees who were appointed through Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) were not given maternity leave in the Villupuram district.
• It sought the court’s direction to ensure that Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHS) and the office of the joint director of Health Services, Government District Headquarters Hospital Campus take immediate steps to process pending leave applications.

OBSERVATIONS AND ORDER OF THE COURT

• The court issued a notice on the PIL and observed that there cannot be any discrimination between regularised and non-regularised married women Government servants with regards to availing the benefit.
• It ordered the state council to take appropriate directions to form from the state government and grant maternity leaves uniformly.

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