Kerala High Court extends hysterectomy leave benefit to contractual women employees

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has held that women employees engaged on a contractual basis in government-funded projects are entitled to paid medical leave following hysterectomy surgery under the Kerala Service Rules.

In its order the Kerala High Court said that once welfare benefits such as maternity and miscarriage leave had been extended to contractual employees, there was no rational or technical basis to deny them the benefit of hysterectomy leave under the same service rules.

Justice Harisankar V Menon passed the order while allowing petitions filed by two Special Educators (Secondary) working under Samagra Shiksha Kerala and quashing a government order rejecting their applications for medical leave.

The petitioners, Nisha Jose and Moly P C, who have been working on a contractual basis, had undergone hysterectomy surgeries and applied for medical leave supported by medical certificates.

The state government rejected their applications, contending that the Government Order which extended maternity leave under Rule 100 and miscarriage leave under Rule 101 of Part I of the Kerala Service Rules to contractual employees did not specifically extend the benefit of hysterectomy leave under Rule 101A.

The court observed that the object of Rule 101A was to provide women employees sufficient time to recover from hysterectomy surgery and that contractual employees could not be excluded from that welfare measure merely because the rule was not specifically mentioned in the government order.

The Government Pleader would, however, state that the case considered herein is not a case of hysterectomy, but a case of an operation requiring treatment for fibroids.

“But, ultimately, in the case of fibroid also, the hysterectomy has been carried out, as evidenced by the medical certificate,” the court said.

Accordingly, the court quashed the government order and issued a direction to the Government to process the leave application submitted by the petitioners.

“Orders as above to be issued as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of 16 weeks,” the court said.