Punjab And Haryana High Court Reprimands a Nationalised Bank As They Transfered New Mother Away From Her Husband’s Workplace

[1]When the female employee was on sick leave and had a baby that was only a few months old, she was transferred to Rajkot, Gujarat. The employee requested to revoke the transfer order, however, the bank initiated disciplinary process for not attending to work at Rajkot and remaining absent from duty. Subsequently, she tendered her resignation, but the bank refused to accept it stating that the resignation should be tendered at Rajkot.

The court while citing the bank’s policy that stipulates that as far as possible, placement/transfer of married female employee, on her request, may be done at a place where her husband is stationed or as near as possible to that place or vice versa, held that the respondent bank is not supposed to behave in the manner in which they have behaved with a married woman having a child of few months. The bank was ordered by the court to review her resignation application and issue a new ruling, ignoring her non-joining at Rajkot.

[1] CWP – 23783 – 2019