Denying Maternity Leave to Contractual Employee Violates Article 14: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a landmark judgment, has ruled that contractual employees are entitled to maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and denying them such benefit would violate the constitutional guarantee of Article 14 which ensures equality before the law. Background of the case The case involved Harpreet Kaur, working as a Clinic Assistant at the Aam Aadmi Clinic, City Raman, District Bathinda. She had…