KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to decide whether to extend childcare leave — at par with women — to an employee who is a single father, saying a father is equally responsible for raising his children as a mother.Under the state government rules, male employees are allowed 30 days of leave on account of their kids (paternity leave), while women are entitled to 730 days (childcare leave).Justice Amrita Sinha was hearing a petition by Md Abu Raihan, a teacher at the government-aided Adhani FP School in North 24 Parganas, whose wife died in December 2023, making him the primary caregiver of their two children. He moved court after he was allowed only 30 days leave to look after them, following current laws.Justice Sinha said that the state government should treat its employees without any gender bias, adding that similar benefits should be extended to men as it does to women. She asked the joint secretary of the finance department to consider the teacher’s plea to review the government’s childcare scheme.The petitioner’s counsel contended that the variance in the amounts of leaves was discriminatory and gender-biased. “When the Constitution speaks of equality, state government should rise to the occasion and encourage equality in all respects,” he argued.Counsel for the single father who had moved Calcutta High Court argued in court that childcare leave should be equally distributed among both parents. The counsel also referred to an observation of a coordinate bench of Calcutta High Court in another case.“It is noteworthy that the conception of a family arises out of equal contributions from both parents and the outcome must not therefore be treated as a liability of the mother or father alone.” the bench had said.Counsel for the state told the court that the benefit granted to women employees, 730 days’ childcare leave, was not yet available for men.
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