The Delhi High Court has ruled that pregnancy and maternity leave cannot be used by employers to sideline women professionals, holding that returning mothers are entitled to the same role, responsibilities and career prospects they enjoyed before going on leave.
In a judgment delivered on August 31, 2026, Justice Sachin Datta said that Section 12(1) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, prohibits employers from varying any condition of service to a woman’s disadvantage — not just her salary or designation. The court emphasised that “under no circumstance can maternity be allowed to become a source of ignominy at the workplace”.
The Case: A Manager Reduced to “Spare Capacity”
The petition was filed by Rakhi Bisht, a Chartered Accountant with around 14 years of experience, who was hired in 2022 as Manager, Accounting at a monthly salary of Rs 2.6 lakh. Bisht disclosed her pregnancy in May 2023 and returned from maternity leave in July 2024.
According to the court’s findings, before her leave, five employees reported to Bisht and she participated in key managerial meetings. After her return, she was shifted to the Treasury Department, had no reporting staff, and was excluded from decision-making forums. Internal emails showed the employer discussing how to assign her tasks merely to “keep her engaged”, which the court described as reducing her to “spare capacity”.
The employer argued that Bisht’s designation, salary and seniority remained unchanged, attributing the change in duties to organisational restructuring after a corporate acquisition. The court rejected this, holding that the statutory protection extends to the substance of the role — including managerial authority, supervisory responsibilities and promotional avenues — and not merely the label on a business card.
Compensation and Directions to the Centre
Finding that Bisht had been constructively demoted, the court awarded her Rs 10 lakh in compensation — roughly equivalent to four months’ salary — along with Rs 1.5 lakh in litigation costs, to be paid within eight weeks.
In a move with wider implications for private employers, the court directed the Union of India to frame rules or schemes within six months under the Code on Social Security, 2020. These rules are to address:
Pregnancy-related workplace accommodation
Protection of role and status after maternity leave
Lactation support and nursing breaks
Functional creche facilities and their accessibility
Timelines for grievance redressal
Protection against retaliation for asserting maternity rights
The judgment also found that the employer had failed to maintain a functional creche facility. The court held that a creche that is not operational when an employee seeks to use it does not satisfy the statutory obligation under the Maternity Benefit Act.
What Employers Must Now Ensure
For private sector companies, the ruling clarifies that compliance with maternity law is not limited to paying full wages during leave or retaining the same designation. Employers must now ensure that:
Women returning from maternity leave are restored to the same position they held before leave, or to a substantially equivalent role in grade, status, duties and supervisory responsibilities.
Any change in role post-maternity is backed by genuine, documented organisational reasons and not used as a pretext to marginalise returning mothers.
Creche facilities mandated under law are functional, accessible and effectively available to employees who need them.
Internal policies explicitly prohibit using pregnancy or maternity as a factor in performance appraisal, promotion, or assignment of critical projects.
The court anchored its reasoning in constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 21 (right to life and dignity) and 42 (provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief), stating that “the constitutional guarantees… require that pregnancy and motherhood cannot become a source of professional disadvantage”.
Impact on India’s Workforce
With India’s female labour force participation still below 40 per cent, legal protections that prevent career penalties for motherhood are seen as critical to retaining skilled women in the workforce. The judgment is likely to be cited in future disputes involving working mothers across sectors, from IT and finance to manufacturing and services.
For HR leaders and compliance teams, the ruling signals that internal policies on maternity return, role mapping and creche compliance will face closer judicial scrutiny. Companies that treat maternity as a protected phase of employment — rather than a disruption to be managed — will be better positioned to avoid litigation and retain talent.
