JAMMU AND KASHMIR BANK LTD. TH ITS CHAIRMAN AND OTHERS KARTIKAY SHARMA vs TANU GUPTA — LPA/34/2026

Case Summary: LPA 34/2026 Court Decision: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir dismissed Jammu and Kashmir Bank's appeal, upholding the lower court's judgment that maternity leave periods must be counted as continuous service for regularization purposes and benefits eligibility. Key Reasoning: The court found that excluding maternity leave from the two-year contractual assessment period constitutes gender discrimination and violates constitutional protections under Articles 14, 15, and 42. The court rejected the bank's acquiescence argument, holding that fundamental rights cannot be waived and that employees facing unequal bargaining power cannot meaningfully consent to exploitative terms. Maternity leave must be treated as a natural incident of employment, not a break in service. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.