After failing to get justice from her employers at the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Ladakh (HIAL), Muslim woman Amina Khatoon is eagerly awaiting a final verdict from the Ladakh Labour Court on November 7.
According to the offer letter, Amina Khatoon started working with Sheshyon Innovations Private Ltd, the enterprise arm of HIAL, Ladakh, in June 2023 as Manager, Procurement.
In her complaint filed before the court, Khatoon said she worked continuously throughout her pregnancy until proceeding on her contractually and legally mandated maternity leave on March 9, 2024. Despite submitting all required medical and delivery documentation within the prescribed timelines, she alleges the institution has withheld her 26 weeks of statutory maternity salary without any valid or lawful justification.
In her complaint filed before the Labour Court, Khatoon stated that within a month of delivering her baby, she was abruptly removed from the official team communication groups and her corporate email address was deactivated.
She stated that this sudden termination of access, coupled with absolute silence from the management regarding her rejoining status, “inflicted severe mental agony, anxiety, and sleep deprivation during an already vulnerable postpartum phase.”
Furthermore, Khatoon has brought to the court’s attention the collateral damage to her professional career. Upon attempting to return to the office, she was turned away and told to wait for an HR update that never arrived. In the absence of either a formal termination notice or a rejoining confirmation, they reportedly withheld her Experience Certificate for quite some.
As a direct consequence of this withholding, Khatoon lost vital career opportunities, including prospective employment with premier organisations such as Engineers India Limited (EIL).
The petition underscores that despite exhaustive, months-long follow-ups via emails and messages addressed directly to Gitanjali Angmo, the HR team, and HIAL founder Sonam Wangchuk, the management refused to provide any clear resolution or release the pending dues, prompting the worker to seek judicial remedy.
Left with no option, Khatoon approached the Labour Court, Leh, seeking immediate intervention of the authorities to direct HIAL to release all withheld maternity benefits, and address the arbitrary and non-procedural severing of employment ties. Taking note of the complaint, a case (case no. 22) was registered at the court of the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Leh, on 27 June 2026, and the first notice was issued to Gitanjali Angmo, CEO HIAL (Non-applicant no. 1) and Deachen, HR HIAL (Non-applicant no. 2). Subsequently after receiving no response, notices were issued by the labor court to the two on 02 July 2026, 13 August 2026, 28 August 2026.
The final notice was issued on 08 September 2026. However, despite repeated notices issued by the Labour Court to Gitanjali Angmo to appear before it, she refused to appear before the Court. The non-applicants, Gitanjali Angmo and Deachen, appeared only once on 13 July 2026. However, in complete disregard of the final notice for appearance on 15 September, Gitanjali Angmo refused to appear and record her statement before the court, prompting it to put up the matter for 7 November 2026 for final orders.