The Delhi High Court order on August 31 in Rakhi Bisht vs HashiCorp is short, but its doctrine is expansive.
Bisht, a chartered accountant, joined software company HashiCorp as accounting manager in June 2022 at Rs 2.6 lakh a month. She took maternity leave in December 2023. When she returned in July 2024, her role had been reassigned. She was placed in treasury - work traditionally performed by a staff accountant, approximately three levels below her designation, and clerical in nature. She resigned in October 2024 and sought Rs 50 lakh compensation and anti-discrimination guidelines.
Justice Sachin Datta held: "Under no circumstance, can maternity be allowed to become a source of ignominy at the workplace."
What The Court Said:
- NO CAREER PENALTY: Maternity leave cannot lead to demotion, loss of status or stalled growth.
- SAME POST ON RETURN: A woman should ordinarily be restored to the post held before leave.
- EQUIVALENT ROLE: If post no longer exists for bona fide reasons, she must get equivalent role in pay, grade, status, authority and growth prospects.
- EMPLOYER MUST EXPLAIN: Any change must be communicated with reasons, details of new role and consideration of woman's objections.
- WOMAN'S OBJECTION MATTERS: If she challenges new role, employer must give reasoned response.
The court rooted this in Articles 14, 15, 21 and 42 - equality, dignity, social justice and humane conditions of work - and said the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 read with Code on Social Security, 2020 prescribes a comprehensive framework for post-maternity reintegration. Absence of such framework undermines constitutional guarantees.
It directed HashiCorp - a private software firm recently acquired by IBM - to frame rules covering pregnancy accommodation, protection of role and status after maternity leave, lactation support, creche facilities, grievance timelines and protection against retaliation within six months, and to pay Bisht Rs 10 lakh compensation plus Rs 1.5 lakh costs.
Crucially, it noted Union government Standing Counsel Ashish Dixit's suggestion that the "protected period" for women employees should span from initial disclosure of pregnancy until six months after return to work, with mandatory individualized assessments within seven days of disclosure to provide accommodation and avoid forcing leave or inferior roles.
This shifts the burden. The employer must not only restore, but explain why earlier position is unavailable and prove equivalence. Cosmetic compliance is not enough.