New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government has notified rules to provide for child-care leaves to mothers taking care of disabled children, the Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday.

The amendment in the state's child-care leave rules is in line with the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 and came following a nudge by a bench headed by the then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, since retired.

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The development came following a plea by an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Government College, Nalagarh, whose 14-year-old son suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a rare genetic disorder requiring ongoing medical care and surgeries.

She argued that the lack of child-care leave provisions in the state forced her to exhaust all sanctioned leave, leaving her unable to meet her son's needs.

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She had come to the top court after the Himachal Pradesh High Court dismissed her plea in 2021.

On April 22, the then CJI-led bench had termed as "serious" the denial of leave to a mother taking care of a child with disabilities and had said this violated the constitutional duty of the State to ensure equal participation of women in the workforce.

It had directed the state government to set up a committee headed by the chief secretary of Himachal Pradesh to take a policy decision on the issue of granting child-care leaves (CCLs) to working women having children with disabilities.

On Wednesday, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and NK Singh disposed of the plea of a working mother after her advocate Pragati Neekhra acknowledged the notification but pointed out certain lacunas in the amended rules.

The bench gave the petitioner the liberty to make a representation to the state authorities pointing out deficiencies in the amended rules.

"In this backdrop, we dispose of this writ petition, preserving liberty to the petitioner to seek further clarifications or enhancements under the scheme by making a representation to the Respondent State, which shall consider it expeditiously," the bench ordered.

Her lawyer Neekhra said the amended rules provide for this relief to only those women who have specially-abled children to take care of.

In her petition, she sought the adoption of Rule 43C of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, which allows women employees with differently-abled children to avail child-care leave until the child turns 20.

The High Court had dismissed her plea, citing the state's non-adoption of these provisions. Subsequently, on July 31, 2024, the Himachal Pradesh Government notified the Central Civil Services (Leave) Himachal Pradesh Amendment Rules, 2024, inserting Rule 43C.

This provision permits female government servants to avail up to 730 days of child-care leave during their service to care for children with a minimum disability of 40 per cent.

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