Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 24: High Court today declined to grant 180 days maternity leave to medicos by recording that she cannot claim the maternity leave as a matter of right as a whole when essential duties of health care be provided to general masses.
Justice M Akram Chowdhary hearing the plea of a doctor Farhat Saleem who is working in Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura Srinagar (SKIMS) said the petitioner who is a medical doctor by profession, may be required for essential duties of health care to be provided to the general masses, particularly in this corona pandemic when leaves of all the medicos have been cancelled.
Justice Chowdhary added that the petitioner as a matter of right cannot claim maternity leave period of 180 days as a whole. Court however having regard to the nature of the case, directed the competent authority of SKIMS, to take a sympathetic view on the case of the petitioner-Saleem and shall consider her plea for further extension of already sanctioned 45 days maternity leave, in case the working of the hospital does not suffer, and the petitioner can be spared for being on maternity leave for further period. “This factor has to be considered by the competent authority while sanctioning such leave”, Court directed.
Petitioner having already been granted 45 days maternity leave w.e.f., 11.12.2021 to 24.01.2022 vide order No. SIMS/ACAD/10 of 2022 dated 07.01.2022, and has preferred the writ petition seeking direction to the respondent-SKIMS to grant her maternity leave up to 180 days instead of 45 days.
Her counsel submitted before the court that she is the resident of Poonch, and has been granted maternity leave as per her entitlement for nursing her child. He further submitted that the petitioner is entitled to the same as a matter of right and has sought direction from this Court in this behalf.
Court has been informed that she had applied for grant of maternity leave for a period of 180 days w.e.f, 13.12.2021 to 10.06.2022 and in her application had mentioned her address, during the leave period, as Hajiabad Colony, Bemina, Srinagar against the submission of counsel for the petitioner, who has stated that the petitioner is the resident of Poonch.
Court on a plain reading of SRO-353, recorded that a woman employee may be granted maternity leave by the competent authority for a period which may extend up to 180 days from the date of its commencement but such maternity leave up to 180 days, as a matter of right, cannot be claimed by every woman employee and the employer has to keep in mind the nature of duties of such employee as well.
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