Overview
- The division bench, which ruled Tuesday, set aside orders from the Villupuram district judge and the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal that had denied extended leave to petitioner Shayee Nisha.
- It directed the district judge to process her application within a week and to grant leave on par with what is given for first and second pregnancies.
- The judges said a March 13 Tamil Nadu order that capped third-pregnancy leave at 12 weeks was unjustified and ran against Supreme Court and Madras High Court rulings.
- The court said the executive order issued under Article 162 and the state's reading of the Maternity Benefit Act could not shrink benefits that settled law protects.
- The bench, led by Justices R. Suresh Kumar and N. Senthil Kumar, clarified that district courts need not follow the cap, a step that could shape how similar leave requests are decided across Tamil Nadu.