Guest lecturer can't be denied maternity pay, Chhattisgarh High Court rules

The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that a woman working as a guest lecturer at a government college cannot be denied her salary for the period of her maternity leave just because she is not a regular employee. In an order dated October 27, 2026, in the case of Pushpa Jaiswal versus the State of Chhattisgarh, Justice Bibhu Datta Guru held that nothing in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 restricts its benefits to regular women employees, and directed the state authorities to decide her claim for the unpaid salary, preferably within three months of receiving the order.

Government colleges in many states rely on guest lecturers, ad hoc staff and contract workers alongside permanent faculty. They often teach the same courses in the same classrooms, but without the same job security. When such a woman becomes pregnant, the question of whether she will be paid during her leave can decide whether she keeps working at all. Losing pay at that moment can push a woman to cut her leave short or give up the job.

The Chhattisgarh ruling answers that question in clear terms for one case: the law that guarantees paid maternity leave does not draw a line between permanent and temporary staff. The court's reasoning rests on the text of the 1961 Act, which, it said, contains nothing that limits the benefit to regular employees. It also made a practical point: if the department has already sanctioned a woman's maternity leave, it cannot then refuse to pay her for it.

The judgment is part of a pattern. In the same week, the Rajasthan High Court held that maternity leave is a statutory right meant to help a woman recover her strength after childbirth and cannot be denied because of how she is employed. In 2025, the Chhattisgarh High Court gave similar relief to a contractual staff nurse, holding that her maternity leave salary could not be withheld because she was on contract. Together, these rulings send a consistent message to state departments that rely heavily on non-permanent staff.

For women balancing a temporary job and a new baby, the practical lesson is to apply for maternity leave in writing, keep a copy of the sanction order and, if pay is withheld, cite these rulings when raising the matter with the department. A single order applies to the petitioner, but it can be relied on by others in a similar position.

Short-term: The petitioner's claim for her unpaid maternity salary must now be decided by the Chhattisgarh higher education authorities, preferably within three months of their receiving the order.

Long-term: Repeated rulings from different High Courts make it harder for government departments to refuse maternity pay to guest, contract or casual staff, and may push states to state the entitlement plainly in their rules for such staff.

Who is affected: Women working as guest lecturers, contract teachers, staff nurses and other non-regular staff in government institutions, the departments that employ them, and families who depend on that income during and after pregnancy.

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