Maternity Protection Extends Beyond Employment Continuity
The prohibition contained in Section 12(1) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and Section 68(1) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, against varying, to a woman’s disadvantage, any conditions of service during her statutorily protected absence is not confined to measures amounting to, or directly associated with, termination of employment nor is it exhausted by merely maintaining her salary and designation. The expression “conditions of service” extends to the substantive incidents of employment, including the nature and content of the duties entrusted to her, her grade and functional status, reporting hierarchy, supervisory responsibilities, and her entitlement to be considered for appraisal and promotion. Retention of the same designation and remuneration is, therefore, necessary but not by itself sufficient if changes are brought about in respect of the aforesaid attributes, to her detriment.
Judgment dated 31.8.2026 of the High Court of Delhi in Writ Petition (Civil) No.14785 of 2024 of Rakhi Bisht Vs. Union of India and another.
shortly after disclosing her pregnancy, the respondent no. 2 altered her professional responsibilities and, in September 2023, transferred her to a different team. It is submitted that although dissatisfied with the change, the petitioner accepted the reassignment in good faith, believing the respondent no. 2’s assurances that she would be restored to her original role upon her return from maternity leave.
Upon her return, she was informed that no position was available for her in her original team. Instead, she was assigned to the Treasury Department, a role which, according to the petitioner, bore no resemblance to the managerial accounting position for which she had been hired. The petitioner contends that the duties assigned in the Treasury Department were traditionally performed by a Staff Accountant, a position approximately three levels below her designation, and were clerical in nature, thereby undermining her qualifications, experience, and professional standing. It is submitted that despite expressing her objections to this reassignment, she was allegedly assured that the arrangement was temporary and that she would soon be reinstated to a General Accounting role.
