Maternuty leave - Employee attending office even after she is been instructed not to come and can we grant her leave after delivery?

One of the employees was instructed not to come to office wef May 1 till 6 months for maternity leave. Still she reported between May 1 to May 17th. Had her delivery on May 18th.
Her maternity leave is approved from May 21 to Nov 21.
Should we apply her remaining leaves for the period between May 1 to May 17? How should we treat May 18,19 and 20?

If she had attended office till 17th may, and the date of delivery is 18th, he maternity leave should be from 18th May for 26 weeks. You cannot mark leave when the employee has come for work. As she had worked from 1st May till 17th may, days from 1st May till 17th May should be marked as present. You cannot approve maternity leave as you wish. It should be from the date on which she remained on leave, ie, from 18th May.

Dear friend,
As per section 5(3) of the MB Act,1961, the maximum period of maternity leave is 26 weeks with reference to the expected day of delivery. It can be availed of either at a single stretch from the actual date of delivery or in two spells which can be at the maximum of 8 weeks prior to the expected day of delivery and 18 weeks following the day of actual delivery. Therefore, it is the choice of the employee only and the employer cannot compel her to go on leave according to his convenience or discretion. The facts narrated in your post warrant only the modification of the leave sanction orders as of now commencing from the actual date of delivery i.e 26 weeks of maternity leave effective from 18th May,2020.

Dear Anonymous,
On your query stating "Should we apply her remaining leaves for the period between May 1 to May 17? How should we treat May 18,19 and 20?"
Ans:-
When a pregnant employee attended office upto May 17th, how can you mark leave for her,
from May 1 to 17th?
In this case, her paid leave entitlement under the Act starts from May 18th onwards.

Dear Members,
We all aware that there is a provision for payment of 26 weeks maternity benefit from date of delivery or 8 weeks from prior to expected date of delivery.
Here I would like to suggest as a precautionary measures, that it is always advisable to obtain written application / request from the concerned female employee that she is willing to work till the expected date of delivery at her own risk.
The purpose of obtaining application is suppose some unforeseen incident occurs, the family members will not hesitate to sue the Company for not granting leave 8 weeks prior to expected DOD and made her work till last moment during her delicate situation. People from Human Rights, Media, labour dept. will approach you for your justification for adopting Unfair Labour Practices in the organisation.
Suresh

Section 6 of the maternity Benefits Act provides for a notice to be given by woman employee stating her pregnancy and the date from which she wishes to take maternity leave. That serves the purpose