-1- Civil Writ Petition No.16108 of 2005. IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH ... Date of Decision: May 31 , 2008. Dr. Rani Devi ... Petitioner VERSUS Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, through its Registrar and another ... Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA. HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHINDER PAL. 1. Whether Reporters of Local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest ? Present: Mrs. Renu Bala Sharma, Advocate, for the petitioner. None for the respondents. -.- MOHINDER PAL, J. In response to the advertisement issued by the Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa (hereinafter referred to as `the University'), the petitioner Dr. Rani Devi applied for the post of Lecturer in the Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences. She was selected for the said post and issued -2- Civil Writ Petition No.16108 of 2005. appointment letter dated July 22, 2004 (Annexure P-1). The petitioner submitted her joining report (Annexure P-2) to the Registrar of the University on July 22, 2004. The petitioner appeared before the Civil Surgeon, Sirsa, for medical examination and vide Medical Certificate dated July 28,2004, she was declared to be having pregnancy of 36 weeks. She worked for a week in the University after her appointment and applied for grant of casual leave from July 29, 2004 to August 28, 2004 vide application Annexure P-3. Thereafter, the petitioner applied for maternity leave from July 29, 2004 to October 17, 2004 vide application dated February 17, 2005 (Annexure P-5). In response to this application, the University informed the petitioner vide letter dated April 05, 2005 (Annexure P-6) that her joining as Lecturer could be accepted only from October 18, 2004, when she joined the University after availing maternity leave. The claim of the petitioner is that since she had joined the University on July 22, 2004 and thereafter she proceeded on maternity leave from July 29, 2004 till October 17, 2004, she should have been treated to join the University on July 22, 2004 and not October 18, 2004 as declared by the University in its letter dated April 05, 2005 (Annexure P-6). In the written statement filed on behalf of the University, it has been stated that since the petitioner was declared `Temporarily Unfit' because of pregnancy vide Medical Certificate dated July 28, 2004, her joining was cancelled -3- Civil Writ Petition No.16108 of 2005. with effect from July 22, 2004 as per the condition of the appointment letter which provided that the petitioner was required to submit a Certificate of medical fitness within a week of joining of service from the Chief Medical Officer, Sirsa regarding her fitness. However, as she was `Temporarily Unfit' to join duty due to pregnancy, a lenient view was taken in her favour and maternity leave was granted to her. She joined duties on October 18, 2004, after availing the maternity report and, as such, her joining was rightly accepted with effect from October 18,2004. Learned counsel for the petitioner has referred to Circular No.43/14/98-1 GS1 dated April 05, 1999 issued by the Chief Secretary to Government, Haryana, on the subject of `Employment of women candidates in a state of pregnancy and declared as temporarily medically fit'. As per this Circular, it is not necessary to declare a woman candidate as `Temporarily Unfit' if she is found to be pregnant during medical examination before appointment against posts which do not prescribe any elaborate training i.e they can be appointed straightway on the job. Obviously, the appointment of the petitioner as Lecturer in the University did not require any elaborate training. Thus, in view of these clear-cut instructions of the Government of Haryana, the stand of the University that as the petitioner was declared `Temporarily Unfit' because of pregnancy, her joining was cancelled with effect from July 22, 2004, is not tenable. Accordingly, without dilating the matter any further, we hold -4- Civil Writ Petition No.16108 of 2005. that the petitioner is entitled to the claim made in this petition. Consequently, this writ petition is allowed and the University is directed to treat the petitioner as having joined the services of the University as Lecturer with effect from July 22, 2004 instead of October 18, 2004, with all consequential benefits. There shall be no order as to costs. ( HEMANT GUPTA ) ( MOHINDER PAL ) JUDGE JUDGE May 31, 2008. ak