The Division Bench, comprising Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice C M Joshi, stated that both the mother and the baby have fundamental rights the mother to breastfeed and the baby to be breastfed protected under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court highlighted that India is a signatory to international conventions upholding these rights, which are crucial during the child’s formative years.
Karnataka: The Karnataka High Court upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) decision granting 120 days of Child Care Leave (CCL) to a nurse, emphasizing that a lactating mother has a fundamental right to breastfeed and spend necessary time with her child for its upbringing.
The Court dismissed the writ petition filed by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), which had challenged the CAT’s directive to approve the nurse’s leave request.
The Division Bench, comprising Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice C M Joshi, stated that both the mother and the baby have fundamental rights the mother to breastfeed and the baby to be breastfed protected under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court highlighted that India is a signatory to international conventions upholding these rights, which are crucial during the child’s formative years.
“India is a signatory to several International Conventions. A lactating mother has a Fundamental Right to breastfeed her baby and to spend reasonable time with it as is required for its rearing, more particularly, during the formative years. The baby too has a Fundamental Right to be breastfed. In a way, both these rights constitute one singularity. This important attribute of motherhood is protected under the umbrella of Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.”
Advocate Prabhakar Rao K. represented NIMHANS, while Advocate Suraj Naik appeared for the respondent nurse, who had applied for leave to care for her young child. NIMHANS denied her request, arguing that an extended absence would disrupt ICU operations.
READ ALSO: ‘Mother’s Right to Breastfeed Recognized As Part of Right to Life’: Kerala HC
However, the Court dismissed this claim, noting that with over 700 nurses, 70% of whom are women, the absence of one nurse should not pose significant operational challenges.
The Bench remarked, “How the absence of one nurse would create insurmountable difficulty remains a riddle wrapped in enigma.”
The Court emphasized NIMHANS’s responsibility as a state instrumentality under Article 12 to act as a model employer, respecting the mother’s judgment about her child’s best interests. It concluded that the CAT’s well-reasoned order appropriately granted relief to the nurse. Finding no merit in the petition, the High Court dismissed it.
