KOCHI: Taking care of one’s children is never child’s play as any parent,especially the moms, can vouch for. It’s a delicate balancing act juggling multiple roles with absolutely no room for failure. Henceforth, woman Central Government staffers with kids to tend can avail themselves of the child care leave available to them at one go or as per their choice, the Kerala High Court has held.
The High Court while allowing the plea from a CRPF woman constable posted in Thiruvananthapuram said the Supreme Court had already upheld a Central Administrative Tribunal(CAT) order which allowed the child care leave to be availed at a stretch. The petitioner - S Beena, constable at the CRPF group centre, Pallippuram, Thiruvananthapuram - said her application for child care leave had not been considered. Beena applied for the leave as there was none to look after her two children - a seven-year-old and the second one, barely four-years-old.
The Central Government counsel submitted the petitioner had already availed herself of 550 days of child care leave and she is seeking to avail leave at a stretch when the total number of child care leave available to staffers is 730 days. The HC said there is no provision in the rules which says the entire leave cannot be availed at a stretch or it should be availed only for a short spell. Consequently, it cannot be the reason for passing orders on an application for child care leave or to compel the petitioner to avail earned leave or report after earned leave.“Such matters should be left to the discretion of mothers who take care of their children,” the court said.
The plea
The petitioner - S Beena, constable at the CRPF group centre, Pallippuram, Thiruva nanthapuram - said her application for child care leave had not been considered. Beena applied for the leave as there was none to look after her two children - a seven-year-old and the second one, barely four-years-old.