India's Supreme Court Expands Maternity Leave to Adoptive Mothers, Citing Equality and Child Welfare
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The Supreme Court of India has ruled that adoptive mothers are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, regardless of the child's age, declaring the previous provision as unconstitutional.
The court emphasized that adoption is an equally valid pathway to parenthood and cannot be treated differently from biological childbirth, urging the Union government to consider introducing paternity leave as a social welfare measure.
The ruling comes in a petition filed by a Karnataka-based lawyer, challenging the provision that restricted maternity leave to adoptive mothers of children below three months of age.
The court held that the provision failed the test of constitutional scrutiny, as it bore no rational nexus with the object of maternity protection, which is to ensure care, bonding, and integration of the child into the family.
The decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for labour and adoption law in India, aligning maternity benefits with the realities of adoption and care-giving.
