look news india
A very big and relief legal news has come out for the working women of the country. The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court has given a very important and clear decision related to the rights of women working in government service. The court has made it clear in its order that there is no legal restriction on taking maternity leave for the second time within two years of the first maternity leave. The Court also clarified that statutory laws like the Maternity Benefit Act are over and above the rules of the Financial Handbook.
What was the whole matter and why did the matter reach the High Court?
This entire matter is related to petitioner Seema working at Kalyan Singh Cancer Institute located on Sultanpur Road. The petitioner had applied to the department for maternity leave for a total of 180 days from June 17, 2026 to December 13, 2026. However, the concerned department had rejected her application citing Rule 153(1) of the Financial Handbook saying that it is mandatory to have a minimum gap of two years between two children or two maternity leaves, which was not being met in this case.
Against this decision of the department, petitioner Seema approached the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court through advocate Prashant Dev Singh. During the hearing, the petitioner side cited earlier judicial precedents given in the cases of Anupam Yadav, Anshu Rani and Satakshi Mishra. It was strongly argued in the Court that the Uttar Pradesh Government has adopted the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 for its employees, therefore, no rule of the Financial Handbook contrary to the provisions of this statutory law made by the Parliament can be considered effective.
What did the High Court say and what instructions did it give?
While hearing the case, a single bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia clarified that it has already been decided in the Anupam Yadav case that the rules of the Financial Handbook are mere Executive Instructions, whereas the Maternity Benefit Act is a complete Statutory Law. In case of any inconsistency between the two, statutory law will always prevail.
The court in its judgment held that there is no provision or condition under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which mandates that there be a gap of two years between the first and second maternity leave. Therefore, no woman can be denied maternity leave merely on the basis of departmental financial handbook. The court completely set aside that quashing order dated July 20, 2026 and ordered the concerned institution to grant 180 days of maternity leave to the petitioner from June 17 to December 13 with immediate effect and also provide all consequential service benefits.