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Authored by - Ambika Swain (Intern at Legal Soch Foundation)
Meta Description: The High Court of Madras raises concern about the applicability and implementation of the law related to paternity leave. It also talked about the prenatal and postnatal care of the child to protect his right to life.
Keywords: Paternity Leave, Child, Desertion, IVF, Life, Protection
The matter, in brief, is that the petitioner’s wife got pregnant through in vitro fertilisation, which requires the utmost care because the IVF treatment is a complex delivery process to deal with.
The petitioner here is a State Police Officer, so the petitioner approached the SP about sanctioning his leave for a time period of 90 days, from May 1 to July 29, 2023, which was granted to him on April 25, 2023, but later on got cancelled on April 30, 2023, due to some issues continuing in the locality.
The delivery of the child was expected on May 30, 2023. So he went on to ask the Deputy Inspector General of Police to allow him to take a leave of 30 days from May 1, 2023, to June 15, 2023, which was granted. But the baby was born on May 31st, 2023, due to which the petitioner was unable to go on duty that day, but he had informed the respective SP about the same and had also submitted a leave application.
Later on, he got a ‘Desertion’ order on June 22, 2023, to report before the Deputy Inspector General of Police to give an explanation of his absence on that day without the approval of the leave.The petitioner then challenged the desertion order and went to the High Court of Madras to file a writ petition.The High Court observed that the petitioner took leave only to take care of his wife during pre- and post-pregnancy, as the patient needs extra care and attention during the IVF delivery period.
The Court said that it is the right to life of a child under the ambit of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which enables the petitioner to take leave on his wife’s prenatal and postnatal days, respectively. Looking into the protection of a child’s right to life, the court not only puts emphasis on biological parents but also adoptive parents, making them aware of the right they have to take parental leave, maternity leave, and paternity leave. The Court repealed the order of desertion, and justice was delivered.
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