Right to Equality: SC Quashes 3-Month Age Bar for Adoptive Mothers' Maternity Leave

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that adoptive mothers are entitled to maternity leave regardless of the child’s age, striking down a restrictive provision under the Code on Social Security, 2020.

The court declared Section 60(4), which allowed 12 weeks of maternity leave only if the adopted child was below three months of age  as unconstitutional and violative of the Right to Equality.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan observed that denying maternity benefits based solely on the age of the adopted child creates an artificial and unreasonable classification.

"A woman who legally adopts a child, or a commissioning mother, shall be entitled to maternity benefit for a period of 12 weeks from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother or the commissioning mother, as the case may be," the court noted.

Further, the court noted that adoptive mothers, whether adopting infants or older children, are similarly placed in terms of caregiving needs, bonding and adjustment.

While emphasising the purpose of maternity benefits, the bench said the law must recognise the essence of motherhood, which includes emotional and practical responsibilities beyond childbirth.

The court highlighted that adoption, irrespective of the child’s age, involves significant emotional, psychological and logistical adjustments, making maternity leave equally essential.

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