Contract employee is entitled to maternity benefit even after her period ends: Delhi HC

On March 11, 2022, The Delhi High Court in Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital Govt. of  Nct Of Delhi & Anr. vs. Dr. Krati Mehrotra W.P.C. No. 1278/2020 while examining the admissibility of maternity benefit to a female ad-hoc employee whose contract was extended from time to time, observed that the employer cannot escape its obligation to pay benefits under the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 even for a period that spills beyond the tenure of the contract as long as conception occurs before the tenure of the expiry of the employment contract. The Court also ignored the contrary judgement delivered in Dr Kavita Yadav vs. The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Department & Ors., for the reason that it dealt with a fixed term contract.