New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Jharkhand High Court to respond within a week regarding the denial of a child care leave application submitted by Additional District Judge (ADJ) Kashika M. Prasad, who is currently posted in the state.
The directive was issued by a bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih during the hearing of a petition filed by Prasad challenging the refusal to grant her child care leave.
The Supreme Court ordered that its direction be communicated to the Jharkhand High Court via email and made it clear that the matter would be conclusively heard on the next date of listing.
“All parties are informed that we will settle the matter on the next date,” the court stated in its order.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel informed the court that Prasad is a single parent with an exemplary service record. Her Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) attest to her professional excellence.
The petition noted that Prasad had applied for leave starting June 10 under the Jharkhand High Court’s child care leave policy, which permits up to 730 days of such leave. However, her application was rejected without any reasons provided.
The bench questioned why the petitioner had not first sought judicial relief from the Jharkhand High Court before approaching the Supreme Court.
In response, her counsel explained that immediate relief was necessary, but the High Court’s rules did not classify her matter as ‘urgent,’ meaning any hearing would have been scheduled only after the summer recess.
ADJ Prasad was earlier posted at the Hazaribagh District Court and was recently transferred. Her advocate argued that due to this transfer and her responsibilities as a single parent, managing childcare became difficult, which led to the leave request.
After the petition was filed and listed for urgent hearing, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter but questioned the reasons for denial of leave.
The counsel submitted that no reasons were given in the rejection order.