Women are entitled to maternity leave even if child is not biological: SC

NEW DELHI: Keeping in mind that the entry of a child into a family, whether through birth, adoption or surrogacy, requires time, attention and parenting responsibilities to ensure their well-being, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that maternity leave is the right of all women, whether they give birth to the child biologically or through surrogacy or adoption. It repealed a rule that maternity leave could not be granted if a child was adopted for more than three months.A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that maternal welfare is not only related to the biological process of childbirth but also takes into account the holistic understanding of attaining motherhood and subsequent fulfillment of the mother’s role. It holds that the purpose of maternity protection does not vary with the manner in which the child enters the life of the beneficiary mother, and that parenthood is not limited to the biological act of procreation.Finding a flaw in Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code whereby only a woman adopting a child under three months of age is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave benefits, the court said the approach adopted by the legislature in enacting the impugned provisions did not reflect the requirements of the real world.The report said that women who adopt children aged three months or older are in the same position as those adopting children under three months and that the current regulations are discriminatory.