The judgment came on Friday from a bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan, who clearly stated: “No institution could deprive a woman of her right to maternity leave.”
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India ruled that maternity leave is not just a job-related benefit, but a part of every woman’s basic reproductive rights.
The judgment came on Friday from a bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan, who clearly stated: “No institution could deprive a woman of her right to maternity leave.”
This ruling was made during a case filed by a woman from Tamil Nadu, who works as a government school teacher. She approached the Supreme Court after she was denied maternity leave following the birth of her child from her second marriage.
The authorities refused her leave, saying she already had two children from her first marriage. According to the rules in Tamil Nadu, a woman can only get maternity benefits for up to two children.
However, the woman explained to the court that she had never used maternity leave or taken any benefits for her first two children, as she was not employed during that time. She got her job only after her second marriage and was now asking for maternity leave for her third child, which is the first child of her second marriage.
Her lawyer, Advocate KV Muthukumar, argued that the government’s decision was unfair and violated her rights.
He told the court: “The state’s decision not to grant her maternity leave violated her fundamental rights as she did not get Tamil Nadu’s maternity benefit provisions earlier.”
The Supreme Court agreed with the teacher and passed a strong judgment in her favour. The bench made it clear that maternity leave is part of a woman’s reproductive rights and cannot be denied because of earlier children from a previous marriage. The court said: “Maternity leave is an integral component of maternity benefits and a vital part of women’s reproductive rights.”
This important judgment has now widened the meaning and reach of maternity benefits. It says that any woman who qualifies must be allowed to take maternity leave, and her past should not be held against her if she hadn’t used such benefits before.
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Currently, under India’s Maternity Benefit Act, women are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave after giving birth. But thanks to a major change in 2017, following orders of the Supreme Court, this was increased to 26 weeks of paid leave for all working women.
The law also helps adoptive mothers – any woman who adopts a child is now eligible for 12 weeks of maternity leave, too.
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