NAGAR NIGHAM HARIJAN KARMACHARI SANGH Vs. MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioners challenge the vires of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation servant Byelaws, 1967, and the amendment made in these byelaws in 1971:

(2.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a registered trade union of the Harijan employees of the Municipal Corporation, Jabalpur. The petitioner No. 2 is a female Harijan employee of the Corporation. By a notification dated 22nd December, i967 the State Government confirmed the byelaws made by the Corporation relating to conditions of service of municipal employees. These byelaws are known as " The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation Servants Byelaws, 1967. " For brevity sake these Byelaws shall hereinafter be referred to as the 1967 Byelaws. The word "servant" was defined by Byelaw 2 (f) to mean "a servant of the Corporation excluding sweepers employed therein. " The main byelaw is Byelaw 3 which reads: Application of Fundamental Rules, Civil Service Regulation and General Book Circular. Subject to the provisions of Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 and the rules are byelaws made thereunder, the Fundamental Rules, the General Book Circulars and the Civil Service Regulations made from time to time shall apply mutatis mutandis to the officers and servants of the Corporation as they apply to the Government servants of the State other than the members of Indian Administrative Service. By another notification published on 29th October, 1971 an amendment was introduced in the aforesaid byelaws/the definitions of the word " servant " was substituted by a new definition which reads as under:

(3.) THE grant of maternity leave to female Government servants is regulated by Supplementary Rule 1 made under Rule 101 (a) of the Fundamental Rules, which reads: S. R. 1 " Extent of leave: A competent authority may grant to a female Government servant, who holds a temporary or permanent post maternity leave on full pay for a period which may extend up to the end of three months from the date of its commencement or to the end of six weeks from the date of confinement, whichever be earlier. In the case of 'abortion' or 'miscarriage' maternity leave may also be grin ed to a female Government servant; but the extent of the leave granted should be limited to the period recommended by the appropriate medical authority referred to in Supplementary Rule 2 below, subject to a maximum of six weeks from the date of occurrence of the event. By a notification dated 25th November 1968 this Supplementary Rule was amended by addition of a proviso in it which reads: Provided that no leave under this rule shall be granted to the female Government servant who has three or more surviving children. The effect of this proviso is to deprive a female employee of maternity leave in case she has three or more than three surviving children.