Sm t Dr. Deepa Sharm a v. St at e of Ut t arakhand and Ot her s

2. Mr. Yogesh Chandra Tiwari, learned St anding Counsel for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand.

3. Mr. Bhupesh Kandpal, lear ned counsel respondent nos. 2 & 3.

4. Pet it ioner was appoint ed as Assist ant Professor in Wom en I nst it ut e of Technology, Dehradun under TEQI P proj ect , on cont ract , vide order dat ed 05.01.2018, and she served t he said capacit y t ill 08.08.2018. Pet it ioner applied for m at ernit y leave for 26 w eek s, effect ive from 21.08.2018 t ill 18.02.2019. The said applicat ion was subm it t ed by her on 08.08.2018. Pet it ioner ’s r equest for m at ernit y leave was t urned down by t he coor dinat or TEQI P- I I I , WI T, Dehradun vide order dat ed 24.08.2018. The or der passed by t he Coordinat or, which is im pugned in t he Writ Pet it ion, is ext ract ed below- “ As discussed wit h NPI U and Direct or, I would like t o inform you t hat according t o point 18 m ent ioned in t he your engagem ent let t er provided by NPI U, inst it ut e can only provide you LWP ( Leave Wit hout Pay) except CL.”

5. Pet it ioner cont ends t hat every wom an, serving in any capacit y under t he St at e, or any I nst it ut e, which is funded by t he St at e, or is affiliat ed t o Universit y, is ent it led t o m at ernit y leave.

6. Pet it ioner r elies upon a j udgm ent rendered by Division Bench of t his Court in Writ Pet it ion ( S/ B) No. 54 of 2024 ( “ Sm t . Dr. Deepa Sharm a vs. St at e of Ut t arakhand and Ot her s” ) . The dir ect ions issued in t he said j udgm ent ar e as follows: - t o t he int erval including rest allowed “ a) Respondent s are direct ed t o grant m at ernit y leave t o t he pet it ioner wit h full pay w.e.f. 07.01.2015 t o 07.06.2015 wit hin eight weeks from t oday. b) The respondent - St at e is also direct ed t o grant m at ernit y leave t o all t he fem ale em ployees wit h full pay for 180 days, even working on cont ract ual basis, ad hoc/ t enure or t em porary basis. c) The St at e Governm ent is furt her direct ed t o grant at least 60 days’ m at ernit y leave t o t he daily wage fem ale em ployees working for m ore t han 240 days’ in a block of 12 m ont hs calendar wit h full wages. d) The St at e Governm ent is direct ed t o provide every est ablishm ent t o have t he facilit y of crèche having 50 or m ore t han 50 em ployees wit h libert y reserved t o t he m ot her t o visit t he cr èche/ nursing care at least four t im es t he daily, em ployees. e) The St at e Governm ent is also direct ed t o grant Child Care Leave ( CCL) of 730 days’ t o all t he fem ale em ployees, whet her appoint ed on regular basis, cont ract ual basis, ad hoc/ t enure or t em porary basis having m inor children wit h a rider t hat t he child should not be m ore t han 18 years of age or older. The fem ale em ployees shall be ent it led t o paid im m ediat ely before leave equal proceeding on leave. CCL can be com bined wit h leave of t he kind due and adm issible. f) The St at e Governm ent is also direct ed t o grant 15 days’ pat ernit y leave t o a m ale em ployee appoint ed on regular basis, cont ract ual basis, ad hoc/ t enure or t em porary basis t o enable t he fat her t o look aft er t he m ot her and child. This leave can be com bined wit h leave of any ot her kind. g) The St at e Governm ent is also direct ed t hat a fem ale em ployee appoint ed on regular basis, cont ract ual basis, ad hoc/ t enure or t wo surviving children, on valid adopt ion of a child below t he age of one year be grant ed child adopt ion leave for a period of 135 days’ im m ediat ely aft er t he dat e of valid adopt ion. h) The St at e Governm ent shall not dism iss, t erm inat e, fem ale em ployee whet her appoint ed on rem ove any cont ract ual basis, ad hoc/ t enure or t em porary basis im m ediat ely before her delivery and t hereaft er t o deprive her of m at ernit y leave, adopt ion leave and child care leave et c. i) The Chief Secret ary shall personally be responsible t o com ply wit h t hese m andat ory direct ions in let t er and spirit .” t em porary basis, wit h t he pay drawn t han t o

7. Lear ned counsel respondent nos. 2 & 3 subm it s t hat pet it ioner has not ser ved for 240 days in t he I nst it ut e and, in fact , her service fell short of 180 days also, t her efor e, she is not ent it led t o any benefit in t erm s of t he j udgm ent r elied upon by t he pet it ioner.

8. Lear ned counsel for pet it ioner, how ever, disput es t his cont ent ion. He subm it s t hat t he service r endered by t he pet it ioner is m ore t han 240 days.

9. Since a fact ual disput e is being raised by t he part ies, as t o whet her t he service rendered by t he pet it ioner is act ually 180 days or 240 days, t herefor e, t his Court cannot go int o t he said fact ual disput e.

10. We, accor dingly, dispose of t he Writ pet it ion by direct ing t he pet it ioner t o m ake a represent at ion t o t he Direct or, WI T, Dehradun claim ing m at ernit y leave. I f pet it ioner m akes such a r epr esent at ion, t he concerned Direct or shall re- exam ine pet it ioner ’s claim in t he light of t he j udgm ent r ender ed by Coordinat e Bench of t his Court in Writ Pet it ion ( S/ B) No. 54 of 2015, wit hout being influenced by t he earlier or der dat ed 24.08.2018 im pugned in t his Writ Pet it ion. (A sh i sh N a i t h a n i , J.) (Ma n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) Shik sha

25.04.2025 SHIKSHA BINJOLA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3410ef86ae41ec9fbabcd5dba6b3a2c2 4b5aa08b09c12f21822fbd40bf639b1c, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=FD80A2D028949381C52796A542 D7FF0A9BED00E67B5283D205F18FE29BDF5DD 9, cn=SHIKSHA BINJOLA