Child care leave

Child care leave is 730 days across the whole service under Rule 43-C, at 100% leave salary for 365 days and 80% for the next 365. Rules, spells and pay.

Updated 15 August 2026

Child care leave is a maximum of 730 days of paid leave across the whole of a career, granted under Rule 43-C of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, to a female government servant and to a single male government servant for taking care of the two eldest surviving children. Rule 43-C(4) pays 100% of salary for the first 365 days and 80% of salary for the next 365. Rule 43-C(7) keeps the leave out of the leave account altogether, so earned leave continues to accrue through it.

The head is the largest single pool in the leave rulebook, and it is also the one most often misread. Three misreadings account for most of the disputes: that the 730 days is a yearly or per-child figure rather than a whole-service pool; that any male employee qualifies, when only an unmarried, widower or divorcee servant does; and that all 730 days carry full pay, which stopped being true on 11 December 2018.

Child care leave began on the recommendation of the 6th Central Pay Commission and was introduced by Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/2/2008-Estt.(L) dated 11 September 2008. It was given statutory form as Rule 43-C by DoPT Notification No. 13018/4/2011-Estt.(L) dated 27 August 2011, and rewritten by DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018, issued as the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2018, G.S.R. 1209(E), to give effect to the 7th Central Pay Commission.

This article sets out who is eligible, how the 730-day pool works, which child qualifies, the leave salary and its 100% and 80% split with worked figures, the conditions on spells and the minimum period, the position during probation, the effect on the leave account and on the annual increment and pension, the allowances payable during the leave, how it combines with other leave, travel and the Leave Travel Concession during it, when it can be refused, and how it differs from maternity leave and child adoption leave.

What child care leave may be taken for

Rule 43-C(1) grants the leave for taking care of the two eldest surviving children “whether for rearing or for looking after any of their needs, such as education, sickness and the like”. The purpose is drawn widely on the face of the rule, and the words “such as” make the three named needs illustrative rather than exhaustive.

The Supreme Court read them that way. In Kakali Ghosh versus Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Civil Appeal No. 4506 of 2014, the appellant sought the leave to supervise a son sitting his tenth-standard year, and the Court held that the head covers not only rearing but needs such as examinations and sickness. A sanctioning authority that treats child care leave as available only for an infant is applying a narrower test than the rule states.

No purpose has to be documented in advance beyond what the sanctioning authority asks for. The rule prescribes no certificate, no medical proof and no school record, in contrast with commuted leave under Rule 30(1), which requires a medical certificate, and with child adoption leave under Rule 43-B, which is triggered by a specific documented event.

Eligibility

A female government servant and a single male government servant are eligible for child care leave under Rule 43-C(1), with no minimum length of service and, for a woman, no condition as to marital status. The Explanation to Rule 43-C(4) defines a single male government servant as an unmarried, widower or divorcee government servant. A married male government servant is not eligible, and no order has softened that position.

The extension to single male servants is more recent than it is usually taken to be. Until 11 December 2018 child care leave was a women-only head; DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) of that date substituted Rule 43-C and carried the words “and single male Government servant” into sub-rule (1) for the first time.

Rule 43-C(8), inserted by the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules 2024, notified as G.S.R. 331(E) dated 18 June 2024, extends the head to a commissioning mother through surrogacy who has fewer than two surviving children. The same notification added Rule 43(6) for maternity leave to the surrogate and the commissioning mother and Rule 43-A(6) for the commissioning father, and it left child adoption leave under Rule 43-B untouched.

The 730-day pool

The ceiling is 730 days during the entire service, and it is a single pool shared across the two eldest surviving children. Rule 43-C(1) fixes it as a maximum “during entire service”, not a yearly entitlement, so it neither refreshes on 1 January nor lapses if unused. Once 730 days have been taken across a career, no further child care leave is admissible under any circumstance.

The pool does not multiply with the number of children. Rule 43-C(1) confines the leave to the two eldest surviving children, so a third or later child creates no fresh entitlement and does not enlarge the 730 days. A servant with four children draws on the same 730 days as a servant with one.

Nor is the pool consumed by time. An unused balance stays available until the two eldest surviving children pass the age limit in Rule 43-C(2) or the servant leaves service, whichever comes first. It carries no cash value at either point: child care leave has no encashment provision, unlike earned leave, which Rule 38-A and Rules 39-A to 39-D make encashable in defined circumstances.

Which child qualifies

Rule 43-C(2) defines a child, for the purposes of child care leave, as a child below the age of eighteen years, or an offspring of any age with a minimum disability of 40% as specified in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Notification No. 16-18/97-N.I.I dated 1 June 2001. Those are the only two limbs, and the second has no upper age.

The absence of an age limit for a disabled child is a change, not the original position. An earlier ceiling of 22 years applied to a child with a 40% disability, and DoPT Notification No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 6 June 2018 removed it, substituting the present sub-rule (2). A servant caring for a disabled son or daughter of 30 is therefore within Rule 43-C today and was outside it before that date, subject to the disability certificate the 2001 notification prescribes.

Leave salary

Rule 43-C(4) pays 100% of salary for the first 365 days of child care leave and 80% of salary for the next 365 days. The split runs cumulatively across the whole service and is not reset by the calendar: the first year’s worth of the pool, whenever it is taken, carries full salary, and the second year’s worth carries 80%, whatever years the days fall in. Before DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018, all 730 days were paid at full salary.

Leave salary at 100% means the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave, which is the cell value at the servant’s level and stage in the pay matrix. Dearness allowance is payable on that leave salary under the dearness allowance orders rather than under Rule 40 of the CCS (Leave) Rules, so it follows the leave salary down to the 80% rate in the second year.

Two worked figures show the size of the step. A servant at the Level 7 entry cell of Rs. 44,900 draws leave salary of Rs. 44,900 a month for the first 365 days and Rs. 35,920 a month for the next 365, a difference of Rs. 8,980 a month. At the Level 10 entry cell of Rs. 56,100 the two figures are Rs. 56,100 and Rs. 44,880, a difference of Rs. 11,220 a month. With dearness allowance at 60% of that leave salary from 1 January 2026, the Level 7 servant draws Rs. 26,940 a month of dearness allowance in the first year against Rs. 21,552 in the second.

Spells and the minimum period

Rule 43-C(3) attaches four conditions to the grant, and the two that decide most applications are the spell cap and the floor on a single spell. Rule 43-C(3)(i) provides that child care leave shall not be granted for more than three spells in a calendar year. Rule 43-C(3)(iv) provides that it may not be granted for a period of less than five days at a time, so a two-day or three-day absence has to be met from casual leave or earned leave instead.

A single female government servant gets twice the spells. Rule 43-C(3)(ii) extends the three spells in a calendar year to six spells in a calendar year for her, and the concession is confined to a single female servant: it does not reach a single male servant, who stays at three.

The five-day floor is itself the second version of that condition. Child care leave originally required a minimum spell of 15 days, and DoPT Office Memorandum No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 5 June 2014 removed that requirement outright. The present five-day minimum came in with the substituted rule of 11 December 2018.

Hospitalisation of the child now relaxes the spell cap. DoPT Office Memorandum F. No. A-24011/5/2024-ESTT-Leave dated 29 July 2024 confers on the leave sanctioning authorities in the ministries and departments the power to relax up to a maximum of three spells beyond the existing three spells under Rule 43-C(3)(i), for female and single male central government employees, where their child is admitted in a hospital as an inpatient. The order took effect from the date of its issue and raises the practical ceiling to six spells in a calendar year, and to nine for a single female servant.

Grant during probation

Rule 43-C(3)(iii) provides that child care leave shall not ordinarily be granted during the probation period, except in certain extreme situations where the leave sanctioning authority is satisfied about the need of the probationer, and provided the period sanctioned is minimal. The restriction is on the grant and not on the entitlement: days not taken during probation remain in the 730-day pool and can be taken once the probation ends.

Effect on the leave account, increment and pension

Child care leave costs nothing from any other leave balance. Rule 43-C(7) provides that it shall not be debited against the leave account, so it is tracked separately against the 730-day pool and neither earned leave nor half pay leave is consumed by it.

Earned leave continues to be credited through a spell of child care leave. Rule 26 credits earned leave in advance in two instalments of 15 days on 1 January and 1 July, and only extraordinary leave and a period treated as dies non reduce that advance credit, by one-tenth of the period and subject to a maximum reduction of 15 days. Child care leave triggers neither reduction, so taking it does not cut the 300 days of earned leave encashable at retirement under leave encashment.

The annual increment is unaffected. FR 26(b)(ii) counts all leave for the increment except extraordinary leave taken otherwise than on a medical certificate, so a spell of child care leave leaves the increment date where it was.

So is pension. Rule 21 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 counts as qualifying service all leave during service for which leave salary is payable. Leave salary is payable throughout child care leave, at 100% for the first 365 days and at 80% for the next 365, so the whole 730 days counts towards the qualifying service that determines central government pension and gratuity.

Allowances during child care leave

House rent allowance and transport allowance follow different rules during child care leave, and conflating them is a common payroll error.

House-rent allowance continues at the pre-leave rate for the first 180 days. Paragraph 6.1.1 of the Department of Expenditure master order dated 30 December 2022 defines leave for this purpose as total leave of all kinds under the CCS (Leave) Rules and names child care leave within it, not exceeding 180 days, and the first 180 days where the leave runs longer. Beyond that the allowance continues only against the certificate in Annexure III to the same order.

Transport allowance turns on the calendar month rather than on a 180-day count. It is not admissible for a calendar month wholly covered by leave, and the unit is the whole month, so a spell of child care leave that stops short of covering a full calendar month costs the employee nothing in transport allowance for that month.

Dearness allowance is payable on the leave salary actually drawn, so it is computed on 100% of pay for the first 365 days and on 80% for the next 365.

Combining with other leave

Rule 43-C(5) allows child care leave to be combined with leave of any other kind. Casual leave is the standing exception across the leave code, because it is an executive concession outside the CCS (Leave) Rules and is not leave for the purposes of them.

Rule 43-C(6) is the more useful provision and the one most often missed. It provides that leave of the kind due and admissible, including commuted leave not exceeding 60 days and leave not due, may be granted up to a maximum of one year in continuation of child care leave, if applied for, notwithstanding the medical certificate that Rule 30(1) and Rule 31(1) would otherwise require. A servant who has exhausted the 730 days can therefore extend the absence by up to a further year on other leave without producing a medical certificate.

Leaving headquarters, the Leave Travel Concession and foreign travel

A government servant on child care leave may leave headquarters, avail the Leave Travel Concession and travel abroad, each subject to a prior clearance. DoPT Office Memorandum No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 23 April 2018 settles all three: headquarters may be left with the prior approval of the appropriate competent authority, the Leave Travel Concession may be availed while on child care leave, and foreign travel is permitted provided clearances from the appropriate competent authorities are taken in advance.

The clearance is not a formality that can be obtained afterwards. Each of the three requires approval before the journey, and travel abroad additionally requires the political and other clearances that apply to any government servant.

When child care leave can be refused

Child care leave is not a right to a chosen date. Rule 7 of the CCS (Leave) Rules provides that leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right and that the authority competent to grant leave may refuse or revoke leave of any description where the exigencies of the public service so require, and no employee may proceed on child care leave without prior approval. An entitlement under Rule 43-C establishes what may be granted, not what must be.

A refusal has to be reasoned. In Kakali Ghosh versus Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Civil Appeal No. 4506 of 2014, the appellant applied for two years of child care leave from 21 May 2012 to look after a son then in the tenth standard and was sanctioned 45 days. The Supreme Court held that the leave sanctioning authority must specify the exigency of service it relies on, that child care leave cannot be refused arbitrarily, and that the purpose of the head extends beyond rearing to needs such as examinations and sickness. The judgment also recognised that a period beyond 730 days can be reached by combining other leave that is due, which is the ground Rule 43-C(6) now covers expressly.

Origins and amendment history

Child care leave entered central service as an executive instruction in 2008 and became a rule three years later. The 6th Central Pay Commission recommended special leave for child care, and Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/2/2008-Estt.(L) dated 11 September 2008 introduced it at 730 days for a woman government servant with two eldest surviving children. Four clarificatory Office Memoranda followed on the same file, dated 29 September 2008, 18 November 2008, 2 December 2008 and 7 September 2010, before DoPT Notification No. 13018/4/2011-Estt.(L) dated 27 August 2011 inserted Rule 43-C and gave the head statutory form.

The 80% rate is a 7th Central Pay Commission recommendation, not a departmental economy. The Commission, in its chapter on leave and holidays, recommended that child care leave be granted at 100% of salary for the first 365 days and at 80% of salary for the next 365. DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018, the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2018, G.S.R. 1209(E), substituted Rule 43-C to carry that recommendation into the rules, and took the opportunity to extend the head to a single male government servant and to rewrite the spell conditions.

Seven instruments make up the current position.

Date	Instrument	What it did
11 September 2008	DoPT OM No. 13018/2/2008-Estt.(L)	Introduced child care leave, 730 days, women only, minimum spell 15 days
27 August 2011	DoPT Notification No. 13018/4/2011-Estt.(L)	Inserted Rule 43-C into the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972
5 June 2014	DoPT OM No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L)	Removed the 15-day minimum spell
23 April 2018	DoPT OM No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L)	Allowed leaving headquarters, the Leave Travel Concession and foreign travel, each on prior clearance
6 June 2018	DoPT Notification No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L)	Substituted Rule 43-C(2); removed the 22-year age limit for a child with a 40% disability
11 December 2018	DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L), G.S.R. 1209(E)	Substituted Rule 43-C: single male servants, 100% then 80% salary, three spells, six for a single female servant, five-day minimum
18 June 2024	CCS (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, G.S.R. 331(E)	Inserted Rule 43-C(8) for a commissioning mother through surrogacy
29 July 2024	DoPT OM F. No. A-24011/5/2024-ESTT-Leave	Empowered leave sanctioning authorities to allow three extra spells where the child is hospitalised as an inpatient

Two of those dates are commonly misreported. The extension to single male servants is dated to 2014 in much of the secondary commentary, when the rule itself carries it from 11 December 2018; and the five-day minimum spell is often read as the original condition, when the original was 15 days, removed in 2014 and replaced by five days in 2018.

Comparison with maternity leave and child adoption leave

The three parental heads sit in Chapter V of the CCS (Leave) Rules and draw on separate pools, so using one does not touch the others.

Feature	Child care leave, Rule 43-C	Maternity leave, Rule 43	Child adoption leave, Rule 43-B
Quantum	Up to 730 days across the whole service	180 days per confinement	180 days, one-off
Trigger	Care of a child below 18, or of any age with 40% disability	Confinement	Foster placement or valid adoption of a child below one year
Who	Female servant, and single male servant	Female servant with fewer than two surviving children	Female servant
Pay	100% for 365 days, then 80%	Full pay throughout	Full pay throughout
Spells	Three a calendar year, six for a single female servant	Taken as one period	Runs from the event
Leave account	Not debited, Rule 43-C(7)	Not debited, Rule 43(5)	Not debited, Rule 43-B(4)

The sequence most parents use follows from the table. Maternity leave or child adoption leave covers the 180 days around the birth or the placement at full pay, and child care leave is drawn afterwards, in spells, from the separate 730-day pool as the child grows.

Common errors

Treating the 730 days as a per-child or per-year figure. Rule 43-C(1) makes it a whole-service pool shared across the two eldest surviving children.
Assuming any male employee qualifies. Only an unmarried, widower or divorcee servant does, under the Explanation to Rule 43-C(4).
Dating the single male extension to 2014. It came with DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018.
Expecting full pay for all 730 days. Rule 43-C(4) drops the leave salary to 80% after the first 365 days.
Applying for a spell of two or three days. Rule 43-C(3)(iv) sets a floor of five days at a time.
Assuming a disabled child ages out at 18 or at 22. Rule 43-C(2) sets no age limit where the disability is at least 40%.
Believing the leave is debited to the earned-leave account. Rule 43-C(7) says it is not, and earned leave keeps accruing at 15 days on 1 January and 1 July.
Expecting house rent allowance to continue unconditionally. It runs at the pre-leave rate for 180 days, and beyond that only against the Annexure III certificate.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many days of child care leave can be taken?

A maximum of 730 days during the entire service, under Rule 43-C(1) of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, for taking care of the two eldest surviving children. It is a whole-service pool and not a yearly quota, so once 730 days have been taken across a career no further child care leave is admissible, however many children there are.

Is child care leave paid at full salary?

Only for the first 365 days. Rule 43-C(4) pays 100% of salary for the first 365 days of child care leave and 80% of salary for the next 365 days. The split was introduced by DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018, and it is reckoned across the whole service rather than reset each year.

Can a male government servant take child care leave?

Only a single male government servant. The Explanation to Rule 43-C(4) defines that as an unmarried, widower or divorcee government servant. Eligibility was extended to single male servants by DoPT Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018; before that date child care leave was available to female government servants alone. A married male government servant is not eligible.

Up to what age of the child can child care leave be taken?

Below 18 years. Rule 43-C(2) defines a child as one below the age of eighteen years, or an offspring of any age with a minimum disability of 40% specified in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Notification No. 16-18/97-N.I.I dated 1 June 2001. The earlier ceiling of 22 years for a disabled child was removed by DoPT Notification No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 6 June 2018.

Does child care leave reduce earned leave?

No. Rule 43-C(7) provides that child care leave shall not be debited against the leave account. Earned leave is credited in advance at 15 days on 1 January and 15 days on 1 July under Rule 26, and only extraordinary leave and dies non reduce that credit, so a spell of child care leave leaves both the accrual and the existing balance untouched and does not cut the 300 days encashable at retirement.

What are the minimum and maximum spells of child care leave?

Rule 43-C(3)(iv) sets the minimum at five days at a time. Rule 43-C(3)(i) caps grants at three spells in a calendar year, and Rule 43-C(3)(ii) raises that to six spells for a single female government servant. DoPT Office Memorandum F. No. A-24011/5/2024-ESTT-Leave dated 29 July 2024 empowers the leave sanctioning authority to allow up to three further spells in a calendar year where the child is admitted to hospital as an inpatient.

Is child care leave granted during probation?

Not ordinarily. Rule 43-C(3)(iii) allows it during probation only in an extreme situation where the leave sanctioning authority is satisfied about the need, and only for a minimal period. The bar is on the grant, not on the entitlement: the days remain in the 730-day pool and can be taken after the probation ends.

Is house rent allowance paid during child care leave?

Yes, at the pre-leave rate for the first 180 days. Paragraph 6.1.1 of the Department of Expenditure master order dated 30 December 2022 counts child care leave within total leave of all kinds for this purpose. Beyond 180 days house rent allowance continues only against the certificate in Annexure III to that order. Transport allowance follows a different rule and is not admissible for a calendar month wholly covered by leave.

Can child care leave be combined with other leave?

Yes. Rule 43-C(5) allows child care leave to be combined with leave of any other kind. Rule 43-C(6) goes further: leave of the kind due and admissible, including commuted leave up to 60 days and leave not due, may be granted up to a maximum of one year in continuation of child care leave without the medical certificate that Rule 30(1) and Rule 31(1) would otherwise require.

Can headquarters be left, or foreign travel undertaken, during child care leave?

Yes, with prior clearance. DoPT Office Memorandum No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 23 April 2018 permits a government servant on child care leave to leave headquarters with the prior approval of the competent authority, to avail the Leave Travel Concession while on child care leave, and to travel abroad provided the clearances of the competent authorities are obtained in advance.

Can child care leave be refused?

Yes, on recorded grounds. Rule 7 provides that leave cannot be claimed as of right and may be refused where the exigencies of the public service so require, and no employee may proceed on child care leave without prior approval. In Kakali Ghosh versus Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Civil Appeal No. 4506 of 2014, the Supreme Court held that the sanctioning authority must specify the exigency it relies on, so a refusal without recorded reasons does not stand.

Does child care leave count as qualifying service for pension?

Yes. Rule 21 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 counts all leave during service for which leave salary is payable, and leave salary is payable throughout child care leave, at 100% for the first 365 days and 80% for the next 365. The annual increment is likewise unaffected, because FR 26(b)(ii) excludes only extraordinary leave taken otherwise than on a medical certificate.

Is a commissioning mother through surrogacy eligible for child care leave?

Yes, where she has fewer than two surviving children. Rule 43-C(8) was inserted by the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules 2024, notified as G.S.R. 331(E) dated 18 June 2024, which also gave 180 days of maternity leave to the surrogate and the commissioning mother under Rule 43(6) and paternity leave to the commissioning father under Rule 43-A(6).

Is unused child care leave encashable?

No. Encashment under the CCS (Leave) Rules attaches to earned leave, through Rule 38-A on the Leave Travel Concession and Rules 39-A to 39-D on retirement, death and absorption. Child care leave has no encashment provision, and an unused balance simply lapses when the two eldest surviving children pass the age limit or the servant leaves service.

External references

References

CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 43-C (child care leave), Rule 7 (leave not claimable as of right), Rule 26 (credit of earned leave), Rule 30(1) and Rule 31(1) (medical certificate for commuted leave and leave not due).
Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/2/2008-Estt.(L) dated 11 September 2008 (introduction of child care leave on the recommendation of the 6th Central Pay Commission).
Department of Personnel and Training Notification No. 13018/4/2011-Estt.(L) dated 27 August 2011 (insertion of Rule 43-C).
Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 5 June 2014 (removal of the 15-day minimum spell).
Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 23 April 2018 (leaving headquarters, the Leave Travel Concession and foreign travel while on child care leave).
Department of Personnel and Training Notification No. 13018/6/2013-Estt.(L) dated 6 June 2018 (substituted Rule 43-C(2); removal of the 22-year age limit for a child with a disability of at least 40%).
Department of Personnel and Training Notification No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L) dated 11 December 2018, issued as the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2018, G.S.R. 1209(E) (substituted Rule 43-C; extension to a single male government servant; leave salary of 100% for the first 365 days and 80% for the next 365; the spell conditions), with a clarificatory Office Memorandum dated 30 August 2019.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Notification No. 16-18/97-N.I.I dated 1 June 2001 (specification of a minimum disability of 40%).
Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified as G.S.R. 331(E) dated 18 June 2024 (insertion of Rule 43-C(8) for a commissioning mother, with Rule 43(6) and Rule 43-A(6)).
Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum F. No. A-24011/5/2024-ESTT-Leave dated 29 July 2024 (power to relax up to three spells beyond the three admissible under Rule 43-C(3)(i) where the child is admitted in hospital as an inpatient).
Department of Expenditure Office Memorandum dated 30 December 2022, paragraph 6.1.1 and Annexure III (house rent allowance during leave, including child care leave).
CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, Rule 21 (leave for which leave salary is payable counts as qualifying service).
Kakali Ghosh versus Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Civil Appeal No. 4506 of 2014, Supreme Court of India.