The birth of twins during a single pregnancy cannot be treated as two separate deliveries to deny a woman maternity leave, the Telangana High Court has ruled.
Justice K Sharath passed the order while allowing a writ petition filed by Jadi Swarupa Rani.
The latter is a junior English lecturer at TSWRS Junior College (Girls), Bellampalli, in Mancherial district.
The court directed the authorities to grant her 180 days of maternity leave from April 14, 2026, to October 11, 2026.
This also involves full pay, allowances, and all consequential service benefits.
Swarupa Rani had approached the High Court after her application for maternity leave during her second pregnancy was rejected.
The authorities had argued that she had already delivered twins during her first pregnancy.
Since she had two surviving children, they held that she was not eligible for maternity leave under GO Ms. No. 152 of 2010 and GO Ms. No. 50 of 2014, which provide for the State’s two-child norm.
However, her counsel, advocate Gattu Vinay Kumar, argued that twins are born from a single pregnancy.
They also added that the birth of two children in that pregnancy cannot be treated as two separate deliveries.
Denying maternity leave on such a basis was arbitrary and violated her constitutional rights.
The High Court examined Rule 101(a) of the Telangana Fundamental Rules and Rule 43 of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.
It also considered the Supreme Court’s rulings in Deepika Singh vs Central Administrative Tribunal and Commissioner of Police v. Ravina Yadav.
Justice Sharath observed that maternity leave forms part of a woman’s reproductive rights and is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.
This guarantees the right to dignity, privacy and bodily integrity.
The court also referred to a Madras High Court judgment which held that maternity leave should be determined by the number of deliveries rather than the number of children born during a delivery.
The order noted that Tamil Nadu subsequently amended its rules to allow maternity leave when twins are born during the first pregnancy.
Andhra Pradesh, meanwhile, has removed the two-child restriction.
Holding that the birth of twins was a biological event beyond a woman’s control, the Telangana High Court concluded that Swarupa Rani’s first pregnancy amounted to a single delivery.
The fact that she had given birth to twins during that pregnancy could not, therefore, be used to deny her maternity leave for her second pregnancy.
