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Supreme Court strikes down 3-month age limit for adoptive mothers’ maternity leave
Supreme Court strikes down 3-month age limit for adoptive mothers’ maternity leave
The Supreme Court of India has declared the 3-month age cap for adoptive mothers’ maternity leave unconstitutional. Justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan ruled that Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code violates the Right to Equality, ensuring all adoptive mothers receive 12 weeks of leave to bond with their children.
In a significant win for alternative family-making, India’s apex court, the Supreme Court, struck down a restrictive provision of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which denied maternity leave benefits to mothers of adopted children above three months of age.
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All adoptive mothers, irrespective of the age of their adopted child, are now entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, beginning from the date of adoption, according to a landmark decision by India’s highest court.
A bench led by Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan found Section 60(4) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, to have breached Articles 14 (Right to Equality) and 21 (Right to Life and Liberty) of the Constitution of India.
“Biological factors cannot exclusively determine familial values and entitlements. Adoption is a legitimate mode of creating families, which is every bit as meaningful as any other mode.” This was noted by the bench while striking down the ‘discriminatory’ provisions of the code, which had restricted maternity leave benefits to mothers of adopted children above three months of age.
The provisions were challenged by the Indian government, which had defended them by drawing a distinction between mothers of newborn babies and those of older adopted children. However, India’s highest court found no merit in such a distinction, noting that the need to bond with one’s child is age-neutral.
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“…a mother cannot be differentiated from a person who brings home a child less than three months of age and a person who adopts a child of a higher age,” the bench declared. Moreover, it also mentioned that older children, especially those living in institutions, might require more time to emotionally settle into their new family.
The Supreme Court ruling also placed considerable reliance on the welfare of the adopted child. By denying leave to parents of older children, it argued that the law has ignored the needs of the child.
The bench also mentioned a problem in the law, which it believed had been raised in the petition filed by Karnataka-based lawyer Hamsaanandini Nanduri: “The current law does not permit adoption of children below three months of age, which makes the earlier law benefit ‘largely illusory’ to a vast majority of adoptive parents.”
The Supreme Court also urged the union government to introduce paternity leave as a social welfare measure in a move towards gender-neutral parenting.
The Supreme Court ruling effectively “reads down” Section 60(4), which now ensures that adoptive mothers of any-aged child and commissioning mothers enjoy this 12-week leave:
This ruling, which challenges a 2020 code replacing the 1961 Maternity Benefit Act, is expected to force an immediate HR policy revamp in both the public and private sectors in India.
Source : Zeenews.india.com
Source: OfficeNewz
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