Court’s instructions to the concerned officer to grant maternity leave to the petitioner from April 6, 2026 to October 2, 2026.
Lucknow. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, while giving an important decision, said that it cannot be refused to take maternity leave again within two years of the leave for the first time. The court said that the rights granted under the law are above the provisions of the financial handbook.
The bench of Justice Karunesh Singh Pawar gave this order while hearing the petition of Manisha Yadav. Yadav had challenged the order dated April 4, 2026, in which her application for maternity leave for the second time was rejected.
The petitioner argued that the Maternity Benefit Act-1961 is a welfare law and its provisions should be given priority. However, the state government cited Rule 153(1) of the Financial Handbook to argue that there must be a gap of at least two years between two maternity leave periods.
Citing previous directions, the court said that since the Maternity Benefit Act is a law made by the Parliament, it will prevail over the provisions of any executive instruction or financial handbook and if there is any conflict, the provisions of the Act will prevail.
The court observed that the petitioner had her first child in the year 2021 and she had applied for second maternity leave in 2022, which was rejected on false grounds. Canceling this order, the bench directed the concerned officer to grant maternity leave to the petitioner from April 6, 2026 to October 2, 2026.
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