Supreme Court questions Centre’s limited maternity benefit for adoptive parents

A bench of justice JB Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 5(4) from the Maternity Benefits Act 1961, which was inserted by an amendment in 2017.

This provision states that a woman who legally adopts a child under the age of three months she is entitled to maternity benefits for twelve weeks.

The Court today asked the counsel for the Central Government to explain the logic behind this provision.

“What’s the point of saying that baby has to be three months old or less? What is the object of a provision to grant maternity leave? To take care of the child, be it biological or any kind of mother… What is the idea behind giving maternity allowance only to that woman who adopts children less than three months old?” asked the Court.