New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- Observing that maternity protection cannot be reduced to merely retaining a woman employee's salary and designation, the Delhi High Court has held that statutory protection extends to her duties, functional status, reporting hierarchy, supervisory responsibilities and prospects of appraisal and promotion.

Justice Sachin Datta, in a significant judgment pronounced on August 31, 2026, said that a woman returning from maternity leave is ordinarily entitled to be restored to the post she held immediately before proceeding on leave. If that post is no longer available for bona fide and demonstrable organisational reasons, she must be offered a position as nearly equivalent as possible in terms of pay, grade, status, role...