Maternity Leave for Adoptive Mothers
Context:
The Supreme Court recently declared the protection of maternity leave for working women as a basic human right.
In a landmark judgment, the top court ruled that an adoptive mother is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave irrespective of the age of the adopted child
The Challenged Provision:
The 2020 Code:
The judgment was delivered in response to a petition filed by Hamsaanandini Nanduri challenging provisions originally under the Maternity Benefit Act, which was later replaced by the Code on Social Security in November 2020.
Section 60(4) of the 2020 Code previously dictated that only mothers who legally adopt a child below the age of three months were entitled to seek the maternity benefit of 12 weeks.
The petitioner successfully argued that the legal adoption process in India usually takes over three months to complete.
This effectively rendered the provision completely otiose (useless), depriving mothers adopting older children of their physical and emotional well-being.
Supreme Court's Ruling:
Constitutional Violation:
A Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan read down Section 60(4), holding that the three-month age limit is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
Equal Rights:
The court observed that an adoptive mother has the exact same rights and obligations towards the child as a natural mother.
It noted that the crucial process of adjustment and integration within the adoptive family remains substantially the same irrespective of the child's age.
The provision must now be meaningfully read to grant the 12 weeks of maternity benefit from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother, completely without the prior age restriction.
Observations on Paternity Leave:
Going beyond maternity rights, the Supreme Court strongly urged the Union government to legally recognise paternity leave as a formal social security benefit.
The court highlighted that parenthood is not a solitary function performed by one parent alone.
The absence of formal paternity leave reinforces rigid gendered roles in parenting and leaves a willing father without a meaningful opportunity to contribute during the formative years of a child's life.