Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir High Court has quashed a government communication withholding pay and allowances of Senior Residents and Tutors during maternity leave, observing that the move amounted to a “profound constitutional injury”.
Justice Rajnesh Oswal said the UT administration had sought to penalise women doctors for the “foundational human experience of motherhood”, describing the decision as a “glaring departure” from the ideals of a welfare State.
The petitioners, appointed under the Jammu and Kashmir Medical and Dental Education (Appointment on Academic Arrangement Basis) Rules, 2020, challenged a communication dated October 14, 2025, issued on the basis of the Finance Department’s advice, which denied them pay and allowances during maternity leave despite a July 8, 2024 government order extending maternity leave benefits to Senior Residents and Tutors.
The government argued that the petitioners were engaged on a fixed-tenure academic arrangement and were therefore not entitled to the benefits available to regular government employees. Rejecting the contention, the court held that once the government had extended maternity leave in accordance with existing rules, it could not deny the accompanying financial benefits through an executive communication.
Referring to earlier judgments of the High Court and the Supreme Court, the court said maternity benefits are rooted in the constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity, and that a woman employee cannot be placed at a financial disadvantage for availing maternity leave.
Quashing the October 14, 2025 communication, the High Court directed the government to grant full pay and allowances to the petitioners during maternity leave as well as for the extended period of residency corresponding to the leave availed. It held that maternity benefits are “an unassailable constitutional right anchored in the dignity of women” and cannot be curtailed through an executive fiat.
