KOLKATA: Calcutta high court rapped a city college for cancelling an economics professor’s child care leave (CCL) of six months, availed to look after her one year old twin daughters, and withholding her salary for the period.“If nourishing years of the two infants are not the right time to grant CCL to petitioner, then one wonders whether the governing body of the college was trying to save it for a later period, when there may possibly be no need for such leave,” Justice Jay Sengupta observed in his May 19 order.HC directed Calcutta Girls College authorities to sanction 189 days of CCL to the assistant professor, and release her salary dues for the period within six weeks. Denying the petitioner such leave would amount to flouting the applicable law, the bench ruled.The professor approached the high court after the college, in a decision on Jan 11, 2024, rejected her CCL availed from Jan 11 to July 18, 2023, and directed her to refund the salary received during that period.The petitioner stated that she took maternity leave of 180 days from Nov 12, 2021 to May 10, 2022. She gave birth to the twins via C-section on Nov 26, 2021. She returned to work on May 11, 2022, and on the same day, applied for child care leave to look after her daughters at her Siliguri home, as her husband was abroad and elderly parents-in-law were ill.She was granted and availed CCL from Jan 11 to July 18, 2023. Suffering from post-pregnancy issues, she again applied for CCL from July 21 to Oct 31, 2023, which was sanctioned, and leave without pay from Nov 1, 2023 to Feb 29, 2024, which was approved. She resumed duties on March 1, 2024.According to the rules outlined in the memorandum of Jan 18, 2016, a woman employee is entitled to child care leave for a period of two years, i.e., 730 days, during her entire service period, until the eldest two of her children reach the age of 18 years. She can apply three times within a year, or apply at once for one year.The college submitted that petitioner went on CCL from Jan 11 to July 18, 2023, “without following the proper rules, as per Calcutta University statutes and Acts”, and her salary for the disputed period was stopped “due to her unauthorised leave”.However, the judge rejected the arguments and noted that the petitioner was well within her rights to claim CCL, and there was no reason for the college governing body not to have considered her application favourably.
