While hearing a case related to maternity leave, the Himachal Pradesh High Court said that the right to become a mother is one of the most important human rights. This right must be protected at all costs. The provisions of the Maternity Leave Benefit Act should be strictly implemented wherever applicable.

Justice Vivek Singh Thakur, while dismissing the plea of ​​Lawrence Convent School, Tara Hall, running in the private sector, made it clear that the relationship between employer and employee requires mutual trust between them. Especially in an educational institution, where education and learning require a conducive environment,.

Therefore, if the school administration does not intend to accept the appointment of the assistant teacher as per the instructions of the labor officer posted under the Maternity Benefit Act 1961, then they will have to pay a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the assistant teacher in addition to the maternity leave benefits already given to them.

The Court made it clear that any intention to frustrate the grant of maternity leave benefit must be dealt with seriously to ensure implementation of the Act in letter and spirit by paying Rs 15 lakh in lieu of her reinstatement. The school administration had filed a petition before the High Court to quash the order dated September 14, 2020, by the Labor Commissioner-cum-Chief Inspector (Appellate Authority) posted under the Maternity Leave Act 1961.

Labor officials had directed the school administration to pay Rs 2,45,592 to the complainant as maternity benefit and salary for the month of September 2019. Sharu Gupta (complainant) should be appointed to the same post of assistant teacher on which she was working before going on maternity leave.