The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the State government to file a report on the steps taken and the study conducted to meet exigencies arising out of vacancies due to maternity leave.Justice B. Pugalendhi took into account that the State government has taken a policy decision to provide one year maternity leave for a third child to all eligible women government employees.Appreciating the decision, the court said it was a welcome effort taken by the government to encourage women to continue in service. But at the same time, the court expects a report from the government as to whether any study was conducted before taking the policy decision, and how the government is going to manage the maternity leave vacancies, the judge said.The court said out of the total sanctioned and working strength of Personal Assistants to Judges at the High Court Bench, currently 10% were on maternity leave as on date. It was not aware of the position in the other departments, the court said.There are already regular vacancies in every department and the departments were functioning with a reduced force. By extending maternity leaves, it is not known what would be the percentage of employees on maternity leave in each department. The efficiency of the departments depends on the available workforce, the court said.The court said it also expects a report from the State government on the percentage of vacancies due to maternity leave in each department.The court was hearing a petition filed by A. Suganthi Stella Mary of Dindigul district. The petitioner, a Secondary Grade Teacher, had sought a direction to the Block Educational Office to grant her maternity leave with full pay. The court posted the matter for hearing for the filing of the reports to September 18. Published - September 03, 2026 09:04 pm IST