Bengaluru: Maternity leave cannot shield an employee from the consequences of prolonged unauthorised absence after the approved leave period expires, Karnataka high court has observed while dismissing a petition by one of its former employees.In the judgment delivered on Oct 16, Justice M Nagaprasanna held that statutory maternity protections must be respected, but cannot be invoked to invalidate action taken against absence beyond permissible leave period.The petitioner was appointed as a software technician at the high court on June 6, 2019. She applied for maternity leave on July 1, 2023, and later sought an extension until Aug 14, 2024. On Sept 25, 2024, the principal district judge of Bengaluru Rural district, under whom she was on probation, directed her to report for duty.In response, she said she could not resume work because no one was available to look after her newborn. Citing her ill health, she also sought a further extension of leave.On April 15, 2025, the registrar general dismissed her from service for failing to report for duty. Challenging the order, she approached the high court, contending that the order to dismiss her was in violation of law.The court, however, observed that the petitioner could not treat public employment casually, adding that she had been granted all permissible forms of leave under the law.The judge further noted that at a time when countless qualified aspirants compete for limited public service opportunities, an employee cannot treat such a privilege it with indifference.The court noted that public employment also carried certain responsibilities. “The petitioner cannot seek to draw sustenance from a right, which was never denied to her, to invalidate an action founded upon circumstances arising independently thereafter,” Justice Nagaprasanna observed while dismissing the petition.QUOTE:“An appointment to public service cannot be regarded as a privilege to be enjoyed at convenience and an obligation to be discharged at leisureJustice M Nagaprasanna | Karnataka HC
