Shimla, Aug 19 – The Himachal Pradesh High Court has come down heavily on the state government for denying full maternity leave benefits to a woman teacher, calling the move “wholly impermissible” and quashing the office orders that curtailed her leave.
Justice Sandeep Sharma, while allowing a petition filed by JBT teacher Kamini Sharma, ruled that once the petitioner had been sanctioned 180 days of maternity leave after the birth of her child on 21 August 2021, the authorities could not later cancel it on the pretext that she submitted a medical fitness certificate at the time of her regularization.
The court noted that Kamini, who joined as a contractual teacher in 2018, was granted maternity leave from 21 August 2021.
However, when her services were regularized on 21 October 2021, she was compelled to submit a medical fitness certificate and join formally on 22 October 2021.
Two months later, the department cancelled her leave and even ordered recovery from her salary, citing absence from duty.
Justice Sharma observed that while government leave rules bar continuation of medical leave once an employee rejoins with a fitness certificate, this was a “peculiar case” since maternity leave had already been sanctioned before regularization.
“Submission of fitness certificate could not have given any right to the respondents to curtail her 180-day maternity leave,” the court said.
The judge also rapped the department for passing adverse orders without even issuing notice to the teacher.
Moreover, despite a court stay on recovery in January 2022, the authorities went ahead and issued a recovery order in June 2025, which the court termed “wholly impermissible.”
Allowing the petition, the High Court quashed the orders dated 13.12.2021, 23.12.2021 and 19.6.2025 and directed the state to release all admissible dues to the petitioner within four weeks, failing which it would have to pay 6% annual interest on the delayed amount.