LUCKNOW, Aug. 14 -- In a significant ruling concerning maternity rights of women government employees, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has held that there is no statutory bar on a woman employee availing herself of maternity leave for a second pregnancy within two years of her first maternity leave. The court directed the authorities to grant 180 days of maternity leave to a woman employee of the Kalyan Singh Cancer Institute, Lucknow, holding that the state cannot deny maternity benefits merely by relying upon provisions contained in the Financial Handbook. Justice Pankaj Bhatia on August 10, while allowing a petition filed by Seema, observed that the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, adopted by the Uttar Pradesh government for its employees, would prevail over contrary provisions contained in the Financial Handbook. The petitioner had sought 180 days of maternity leave from June 17 to December 13, 2026. Her application was rejected by the department by relying on Rule 153(1) of the Financial Handbook, on the ground that a second maternity leave was not permissible within two years of the earlier maternity leave. Challenging the rejection, the petitioner approached the high court through advocate Prashant Dev Singh. During the hearing, reliance was also placed on earlier judgments, including decisions in cases of Anupam Yadav, Anshu Rani and Satakshi Mishra. The petitioner's counsel argued that the state government had adopted the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, for its employees and that an executive provision contained in the Financial Handbook could not override a statutory enactment made by Parliament. The court accordingly quashed the order rejecting the petitioner's maternity leave and directed authorities concerned to sanction 180 days of maternity leave from June 17, 2026, to December 13, 2026, along with all consequential service benefits....