Himachal HC upholds women teachers’ right to maternity leave

Women teachers in Himachal Pradesh have secured a major legal victory after the state High Court ruled that maternity leave cannot be curtailed or treated as unauthorized absence during regularization.

The court made it clear that maternity leave is a statutory right and forms part of continuous service, striking down earlier state directives that attempted to treat it differently.

It also held that the government’s move to recover salaries drawn during this period was “impermissible in law.”

The case came before the court when a group of teachers challenged state orders that classified maternity leave taken during probation as non-working time.

Petitioners argued that this policy violated their constitutional rights and unfairly penalized women for exercising a lawful entitlement.

Agreeing with their stand, the bench observed that maternity leave is not a concession but a guaranteed right under service rules, labor laws, and constitutional provisions of equality.

“Women employees cannot be pushed into a choice between motherhood and career,” the court said in its order.

Officials had earlier attempted to recover wages for the period of maternity leave, but the High Court rejected this practice, noting that once leave is sanctioned under the law, recovery of pay cannot be justified.

The judgment not only provides financial relief to affected teachers but also ensures that maternity leave will now count towards probation and service benefits, preventing delays in career progression.

Legal experts say the order reinforces maternity rights as an essential part of workplace protections for women employees.