'Employers Won't Hire Women...': Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Plea Seeking Mandatory Menstrual Leave

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (March 13) declined to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a policy mandating menstrual leave for women students and employees across the country. The top court said that competent authorities could consider the representation already submitted by the petitioner and take an appropriate decision on the matter.

The Bench, with Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, which sought the apex court's instructions to governments to frame rules which would allow women, including students and working professionals, to take leave during menstruation.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice expressed caution that making menstrual leave compulsory through legislation might discourage employers from hiring women, in the light of prevalent workplace attitudes. He reportedly said that while awareness and sensitisation around menstrual health were important, legally mandating leave could lead to adverse consequences harming women’s employment prospects altogether.

“You don't know the mindset of employers. They will not hire women if we make such a law," he said. “The moment you say ‘compulsory in law’, nobody will give them jobs. They will say: you should sit at home," the Bench reportedly added.

According to reports, Senior advocate M. R. Shamshad, appearing for the petitioner, argued that some institutions had already introduced menstrual leave policies. He cited the example of universities in Kerala, where menstrual leave for women students was introduced in 2013 under the government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

In 2023, when a PIL was filed in the case of Shailendra Mani Tripathi v. Union of India in 2023 seeking menstrual leave for women, the court reportedly dismissed the petition by stating that “the matter of menstrual leave needs more governance and policies so that they can be applicable."

Earlier this year, the top court had observed the importance of menstrual health when a bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan held in January that menstrual hygiene forms an essential part of a girl child’s rights to life, dignity, health and education. It further directed governments to ensure access to sanitary products, proper sanitation facilities and greater awareness around menstrual health.

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