Delhi High Court fines Delhi government in a case involving maternity benefits for contractual employee Rehmat Fatima. Justices criticize government’s appeal, affirming importance of women’s workplace rights.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
DELHI: On Tuesday(12th March), The Delhi High Court has imposed a significant fine on the Delhi government, highlighting the importance of maternity benefits for contractual employees. The case, involving the government’s challenge against an order that granted maternity benefits to Rehmat Fatima, a stenographer on a contractual basis with the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, has brought to light the critical issue of women’s rights in the workplace.
The division bench, comprising Justice Rekha Palli and Shalinder Kaur, expressed their dissatisfaction with the government’s appeal, labeling it as “misconceived.” The justices pointed out that the single-judge’s order was in favor of a young woman who had dedicated over five years of service to the consumer forum with utmost dedication.
ALSO READ: Supreme Court Upholds Women’s Reproductive Rights, Dismisses Challenge to MTP Act
The bench also highlighted the irony in the government’s actions, especially considering the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s publicized Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojna. This scheme promises to provide Rs.1,000 per month to all adult women in the national capital, excluding those who are taxpayers, government employees, or pensioners. The court expressed surprise at the government’s decision to contest an order that aligned with its own proclaimed goals of promoting women’s interests in Delhi.
The court’s statement was clear:
“In fact, we are surprised that the Govt. of NCT of Delhi, which is giving great publicity to the steps being taken to promote the interest of women in Delhi and has under its recently announced scheme i.e., Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojna promised to pay all adult women in the city except those who are tax-payers/government employees or are drawing pension, a monthly sum of Rs.1,000/- in the future has chosen to file such a misconceived appeal to assail an order which grants the benefits under the Act to a young woman, who has with utmost dedication served in the Delhi State Consumer Forum over 5 years,”
Ultimately, the court dismissed the appeal and ordered the government to compensate Fatima with Rs.50,000. The judgment emphasized that there was no valid reason to interfere with the original order, which directed the appellants to pay the respondent her salary and other monetary benefits for the 26 weeks during which she sought maternity benefits.
The case stemmed from an appeal by the Delhi government against a single-judge’s decision dated October 6, 2023, which granted maternity and medical benefits to Fatima for a period of 26 weeks. The government had contested this, arguing that Fatima’s contractual engagement was set to expire, and thus, it should not be liable for the entire period of her maternity leave.
ALSO READ: Supreme Court: No Abortion for 26-Week Pregnancy
However, the division bench refuted this argument, citing Section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which ensures that maternity benefits do not cease upon the expiration of a woman’s contractual employment.
The legal representation in this case saw Additional Standing Counsel Yeeshu Jain alongside advocates Jyoti Tyagi, Manisha, and Hitanshu Mishra for the Delhi government, while Rehmat Fatima was represented by advocates Syed Hasan Isfahani and Syed Mohd Hassan.
