Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court recently ruled that maternity leave is a right and cannot be clubbed with other regular leaves to cancel the candidature of a National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) trainee.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas was hearing the plea of a trainee who was selected for the NEET Super Speciality Examination (NEET-SS) DrNB course after completing her MBBS and MD. During her training, she took 6 months (184 days) of maternity leave in addition to other leaves, totalling 207 days. She later underwent treatment for Stage IV lymphoma for around 195 days and is expected to resume training by March 2026, which would exceed the permitted leave period by 37 days.

Her leave application was initially rejected, citing Clause 7(c) of the Comprehensive Leave Rules for NBEMS trainees, which states that total leave exceeding one year can lead to cancellation of candidature. The petitioner approached the High Court seeking an extension of her training and setting aside the refusal.

NBEMS opposed the plea, stating the 2024 Rules apply and the court should not interfere in discretionary matters. The petitioner argued that the current rules were not in force at the time of her joining and the previous rules should apply.

The court observed that maternity leave is a fundamental right and cannot be clubbed with discretionary leave. "The general principle that leave beyond one year results in termination cannot be applied to rare cases like the present," Justice Thomas noted. The court directed that the trainee should be allowed to submit a fresh leave application, which must be considered in light of her circumstances, and she shall not be terminated from the course in the meantime. The plea was disposed of accordingly.
(With LiveLaw inputs)