The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to consider the application of a government school teacher seeking maternity leave for the birth of her third child overall, and the first after getting employed with the government department, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.

Disposing of a petition filed by Khatija Umama, a teacher employed in Government Model Higher Secondary School, Erode, Justice Abdul Quddhose directed the Erode District Educational Officer to pass final orders on merits and in accordance with the law on her representation dated June 27, 2022 seeking maternity leave for a period of one year from July 7, 2022 after giving due consideration to the fact that the petitioner is seeking the leave for the first time, as per the TNIE report.

Decision in 12 weeks
The respondent was directed to take a decision on the matter in twelve weeks. The petitioner stated that she joined the government service after giving birth to two children and after joining service, she conceived and sought maternity leave for a year. The third child was born, however, the leave was still not granted. She claimed that she was entitled to the leave while the government counsel maintained that she cannot be granted leave for the third child as per a Government Order (Ms No. 84) of the Human Resources Management Department.