BENGALURU: The state government on Wednesday cited a Supreme Court’s ruling that gives the state powers to issue executive orders under Article 162 of the Constitution even in the absence of legislation while defending its menstrual leave policy in the Karnataka High Court.
The government had issued a notification on November 20 granting one-day menstrual leave in a month for women aged between 18 and 52 years.
Additional Advocate General Prathima Honnapura filed the state’s objections before Justice Jyoti M, who is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the notification.
The petitions were filed by Bangalore Hotels’ Association and Avirata AFL Connectivity Systems Limited, Bengaluru and others challenging the notification. The government said the contention of the petitioner that the central enactments must be amended if state wanted to issue notification mandating menstrual leave is baseless.
The notification was not passed under those enactments, but under Article 162 of the Constitution, which is not in conflict with the Central Acts as contended by the petitioners. It only needs to be approved by the cabinet.
The government stated that the central enactments cited by the petitioners have a specific provision that allows every employee to take the benefit of leaves granted to him or her under any other law.
The government said the notification was issued considering the recommendations of the expert committee, the Law Commission Report and several other expert opinions.
The state has powers to ensure that every citizen is subjected to fair working conditions devoid of exploitation, the government argued.
They also said the petitioner’s contention that the impugned order will result in financial liability cannot be sustained, as the health of the employees is of far more importance in the eyes of the state. The court has adjourned the hearing to January 20.
