Allahabad HC Says No Mandatory Gap Between Pregnancies for Maternity Leave

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that there is no mandatory minimum gap between two pregnancies for availing maternity leave, holding that the benefit is governed by the Code on Social Security, 2020, which does not prescribe any waiting period between successive pregnancies. The court clarified that executive instructions cannot override statutory law, setting aside a Uttar Pradesh government order that had denied maternity leave to a woman employee on the ground that two years had not elapsed since her previous leave.

Justice Siddharth Nandan delivered the verdict while allowing a petition filed by Shikha Yadav, a regularly appointed staff nurse under the Uttar Pradesh Department of Medical Education. The court set aside the department's January 9, 2026 order rejecting her maternity leave application solely because two years had not elapsed since she had availed maternity leave for her first child.

Yadav had earlier been granted 180 days of maternity leave, which ended in July 2024. After conceiving her second child, with the expected date of delivery in January 2026, she applied for another 180 days of maternity leave on January 5, 2026. However, her request was rejected on the basis of a 2008 government order and provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Financial Handbook, which required a two-year interval between maternity leave spells.

Quashing the rejection, the High Court directed Yadav to submit a fresh application under the Code on Social Security, 2020 and instructed the competent authority to decide her claim in accordance with the law. In its July 15 judgment, the court observed that the Social Security Code does not impose any restriction or timeline between two pregnancies and therefore prevails over conflicting departmental instructions.

The ruling also builds on earlier decisions of the Allahabad High Court, which had similarly held that statutory maternity benefits cannot be curtailed by executive rules. The court reiterated that maternity leave is a statutory welfare entitlement, aimed at safeguarding the health, dignity and well-being of both the mother and child, rather than a discretionary concession.

The judgment is rooted in the constitutional principles of Articles 14, 15(3), 21 and 42, which promote equality, protect women's rights and direct the State to provide maternity relief. Under the Code on Social Security, 2020, eligible women are entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two surviving children, while women with two or more surviving children are entitled to 12 weeks. The law also extends benefits to adoptive and commissioning mothers and contains no provision requiring a minimum gap between pregnancies.

Legal experts believe the verdict could have far-reaching implications for government departments and public sector employers still following outdated service rules. The judgment is expected to prompt authorities to align their maternity leave policies with the Code on Social Security, 2020, strengthening legal protection for women employees across the country.