Adoptive mothers also entitled to 12 weeks maternity leave: SC
What's the story
The Supreme Court has declared a provision of the Social Security Code, 2020, unconstitutional. The provision in question was Section 60(4), which restricted maternity benefits to adoptive mothers with children under three months old. A bench comprising Justice Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan ruled that all adoptive mothers are entitled to a 12-week maternity leave, regardless of their child's age at adoption.
Court
What court said
"The distinction drawn by subsection 4 of section 60 does not have a rational nexus with the object of the 2020 Code. The object of maternity benefit is not associated with the process of childbirth but with the process of motherhood," the court said. "Women who adopt a child aged 3 months or above are similarly situated to women who adopt a child below the age of 3 months," the court said.
Ruling details
Court suggests government consider introducing paternal leave
The court criticized the age-based classification as "illusory and devoid of practical application." Justice Pardiwala observed that adoptive mothers' responsibilities don't change with the child's age. The court stressed that maternal care needs remain constant, irrespective of when a child is adopted. It also suggested the government consider introducing paternal leave as a social security benefit, with duration tailored to both parents' needs.
Legal challenge
Case filed in 2021
The case was originally filed in 2021 against Section 5(4) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The section provided 12 weeks of maternity leave only for adoptive mothers with children under three months old. The petitioner argued this provision violated Article 19(1)(g) by imposing legal hurdles on women adopting infants and highlighted procedural timelines under Central Adoption Resource Authority regulations as barriers to adoption processes for older children.
Rationale questioned
Union of India defended provision
She explained that in cases of abandoned or orphaned children, the Child Welfare Committee may take two to four months to declare the kid legally free for adoption, but children surrendered by biological parents are subject to a 60-day reconsideration process. During the hearing, Justice Pardiwala asked about the rationale behind setting the age threshold at three months. The Union of India defended the provision by citing longer leave for biological mothers due to recovery needs after delivery.
SC
'Adoption is an equally valid pathway'
However, the court clarified that its concern was not with leave duration but with restricting benefits based solely on an adopted child's age. Pertinently, the court held that the needs of an adoptive child are no different from a child born to the mother. "Although biology has traditionally been the predominent lens through kinship, adoption is an equally valid pathway," it said.