Delhi High Court Ruling on Child Care Leave
The Delhi High Court recently delivered a significant ruling ensuring that employees of unaided private schools in Delhi are entitled to child care leave (CCL) on par with their counterparts in government schools. This decision was made by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.
Legal Basis for the Ruling
The Court based its judgment on Rule 111 of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973. According to this rule, employees of recognized private schools are entitled to the same leave benefits as those of a similar status in government schools. The Bench emphasized that CCL is available to government school employees under Rule 43(C) of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972. Consequently, the same benefit must be extended to employees in recognized private schools.
“Since irrespective of the fact as to whether a particular kind of leave has or does not have the character of money, Rule 111 grants the benefit of leave of absence to an employee of a recognized private school, whether aided or unaided, at par with such employees working in a corresponding status in a government school,” the Bench stated. “In our opinion, the benefit of CCL will be available to those employees working in unaided recognized and privately managed schools in Delhi as well, as is available to the employees of the government schools,” the Court ruled.
Case Background
This landmark decision set aside a previous order by a single judge who had dismissed the petition filed by Sangeeta Negi, a teacher at Bharti Public School. Negi had requested CCL from May to September 2025 to take care of her son, but her request was denied by both the school and the single judge. The Division Bench highlighted an earlier decision in Amandeep Kaur v. Union of India, stressing that CCL serves a vital social purpose by supporting family welfare and the interests of children.
Court’s Directive
As a result of the ruling, the appeal was allowed, and the order dated August 8, 2025, from the learned Single Judge in WP(C) 11903/2025 was set aside. The Court directed Bharti Public School to reconsider Sangeeta Negi’s request for CCL promptly and make a decision swiftly.
More Read
Legal Representation
Advocates Sermon Rawat and Aastha Vishwakarma represented Sangeeta Negi, while Advocates BC Pandey, SP Kamrah, Puneet Batra, and Aryavansh Kamrah appeared for the school. The Delhi government was represented by Advocates Yeeshu Jain, Jyoti Tyagi, Vishruti Pandey, and Sachin Garg.
[Read Judgment]
