High Court Condemns J&K Bank for Discriminating Against Female Employees by Denying Maternity Leave Benefits The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that maternity leave is a constitutional right and cannot be used as a tool for workplace discrimination, rebuking Jammu and Kashmir Bank for its treatment of female employees who faced delayed regularisation and loss of salary benefits due to the institution’s refusal to recognise maternity leave as continuous service. In a 15-page judgment, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal dismissed appeals filed by the bank against four women employees, including Tanu Gupta, whose cases had previously been upheld by a single judge. The court condemned the bank’s actions as an attempt to “flex institutional muscles” against female workers, highlighting the discriminatory nature of treating maternity leave as a break in service. The dispute arose when the bank excluded maternity leave periods from the calculation of employees’ two-year contractual service for regularisation, effectively pushing their eligibility for revised pay scales and adjustment benefits beyond December 31, 2020. This policy meant the women employees lost access to financial incentives available to those regularised before the cut-off date. The court ruled that such treatment constituted a form of punishment for motherhood, stating that categorising sanctioned maternity leave as a break in service to deny benefits was discriminatory. The bench also underscored the unequal power dynamics between large institutions and employees, particularly women, noting that the affected workers had no meaningful bargaining power and could face termination for challenging the terms.#chief_judge_arun_palli #justice_rajnesh_oswal #high_court_jammu_kashmir_ladakh #tanu_gupta #jammu_and_kashmir_bank
Maternity leave can't be treated as break in service: High Court rules in favor of female employees The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that maternity leave cannot be considered a break in service for the purpose of calculating employee benefits, rejecting the argument of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd that such leave disrupts the two-year assessment period for regularisation. The court dismissed two appeals filed by the bank, which had challenged a writ court judgment dated August 25, 2025, which mandated that the period of maternity leave be treated as continuous service. The case involved four women employees—Tanu Gupta, Basu Magotra, Isha Sudan, and Bintul Hudda—who had been employed on a contractual basis by the bank. The bank argued that these employees were initially hired for a two-year term and were to be regularised only after successfully completing their assessment period. It claimed that maternity leave, which is not explicitly denied, extended the contractual period by the number of days spent on leave. The bank further asserted that since the employees had accepted the leave conditions without protest, they could not later challenge the delayed regularisation. The High Court, however, rejected the bank’s stance. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal held that excluding maternity leave from service calculations amounted to a clear disadvantage for women employees and effectively penalised them for motherhood. The court emphasized that maternity leave must be treated as continuous service to ensure equal treatment and prevent discrimination. It also stated that any ambiguity or silence in rules governing maternity benefits must be interpreted in favor of female employees.#high_court_jammu_kashmir_ladakh #jammu_and_kashmir_bank_ltd #tanu_gupta #basu_magotra #isha_sudan
