HC comes to doctor's rescue, rules maternity leave cannot be clubbed with regular leaves to cancel candidature

Ernakulam: Observing that reproductive rights are part of fundamental rights, the Kerala High Court has held that maternity leave cannot be clubbed with regular leave to cancel the candidature of a doctor pursuing a DrNB super speciality course under the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

The Court was considering a plea filed by a DrNB trainee who sought extension of leave after availing maternity leave and medical leave, but NBEMS rejected her request, stating that her total leave exceeded the one-year limit and could lead to cancellation of her candidature.

Granting relief to the trainee, Single Bench Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed, "Maternity leave being a right and other leaves being a discretion, this Court is of the view that the maternity leave availed by a trainee like the petitioner cannot be clubbed with the other regular leaves that can be availed by such a trainee. The right of a woman which no doubt will include a female post graduate trainee, to avail maternity leave cannot be denied. De hors the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, a woman must be deemed to posses a right to be granted leave during a reasonable period of her pregnancy. This period must also include the time to recuperate."

The Bench further observed that although courts usually do not interfere in academic matters, this is an exceptional case and stated that in extraordinary situations, an extraordinary approach is warranted.

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The case concerns the petitioner, a DrNB trainee who completed her MBBS and MD in General Medicine. She qualified in the NEET Super Speciality (NEET-SS) 2022 examination and was allotted the DrNB course in Nephrology. She joined the course on December 14, 2022.

During her super speciality training, she went on maternity leave from May 23, 2023, to November 22, 2023, after giving birth to her second child. This maternity leave was for 184 days. Along with a few additional leave days, her total leave during that period came to 207 days.

Later, she was diagnosed with Stage IV High Grade B-Cell Lymphoma, a serious and aggressive type of blood cancer. Her treatment started on August 28, 2025. As per a medical certificate dated October 13, 2025, her treatment was expected to be completed by January 2026. After taking the required rest, she expected to resume her training by March 2026.

According to her, if she resumed duty on March 1, 2026, her total leave would exceed the permitted limit by 37 days. She submitted a leave application seeking leave from August 18, 2025, to February 18, 2026. However, her request was rejected by referring to Clause 7(c) of the rules, and she was asked to resubmit the application.

In the rejection letters, she was informed that because she had already taken maternity leave, her total leave would come to 402 days if the new leave was granted. As per Clause 7(c) of the Comprehensive Leave Rules for NBEMS trainees, if a trainee takes more than one year (365 days) of leave during the course, the candidature will be cancelled, and the trainee will not be allowed to continue the programme.

She was also told that under no circumstances should her total leave exceed one year. In all these communications, she was directed to resubmit her leave application without crossing the one-year limit.

Faced with the possibility of cancellation of her candidature, she approached the High Court by filing this writ petition. She sought a direction to grant special leave and a corresponding extension of her training period for completing her super speciality course. Additionally, prayers were made to set aside the communications that refused to sanction her leave request.

Opposing the plea, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences stated that, as per the Comprehensive Leave Rules for NBEMS issued on 22-11-2024, taking leaves exceeding one year will lead to cancellation of candidature. It was also submitted that since the same relates to a discretionary remedy, the Court ought not interfere.

However, the petitioner argued that since the afore-mentioned Rules were not in force at the time of her joining the course, the Rules then in force should apply to her case.

Taking note of the arguments, the court observed that maternity leave must be treated as part of a woman’s reproductive rights. A woman, including a postgraduate medical trainee, cannot be denied the right to take maternity leave. Even apart from the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, a woman has the right to take leave during pregnancy and also for recovery after childbirth.

The Court also observed that NBEMS should have the power to consider granting leave beyond one year in appropriate cases, after taking into account the specific circumstances. It reiterated that the petitioner’s maternity leave cannot be counted while calculating the total leave for applying the “no leave beyond one year” rule.

"The right of a woman which no doubt will include a female post graduate trainee, to avail maternity leave cannot be denied. De hors the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, a woman must be deemed to possess a right to be granted leave during a reasonable period of her pregnancy. This period must also include the time to recuperate…Maternity leave being a right and other leaves being a discretion, this Court is of the view that the maternity leave availed by a trainee like the petitioner cannot be clubbed with the other regular leaves that can be availed by such a trainee… Petitioner' maternity leave and her medical leave both had to be availed in the same year. The general principle that a person shall not avail a leave beyond one year, and if done so, would result in termination of the candidature, cannot be applied to such rare instances like the present. Therefore, I am of the view that, the restriction in the Comprehensive Leave Rules for NBEMS trainees 2024 ought not be applied pedantically, to the petitioner," observed the court.

Considering all these factors, the Court held that the petitioner should be allowed to submit a fresh leave application within a fixed time. If she submits the application within 10 days through her institution, NBEMS must consider it within two weeks.

"The grant of leave, if any, by the first respondent, based on the leave application submitted by the petitioner, shall be specifically observed as being on account of the extraordinary circumstances arising in the instant case," said the bench.

The Court also made it clear that, in the meantime, the petitioner must not be terminated from the DrNB programme.

To view the official court order, click on the link below:

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