Overview

• A Division Bench of the Orissa High Court ruled that maternity benefits must extend to all women employees, including contractual and temporary staff.
• The judges dismissed the state government’s appeal and directed authorities to implement the order within eight weeks.
• The court held that excluding contractual workers from maternity leave benefits violates Article 14’s guarantee of equality before the law.
• The judges cited India’s treaty obligations under ICESCR and CEDAW and emphasized the zero separation principle to safeguard a lactating mother’s right to breastfeed.
• The decision builds on the Supreme Court’s May 2025 declaration of maternity leave as a fundamental reproductive right and resolves a decade-long dispute brought by contractual worker Anindita Mishra.