"Can't Deny Maternity Leave If Adopted Child Older Than 3 Months": Top Court

Stressing that an adopted child is no different than a biological child, the Supreme Court today ruled that a woman who adopts a child older than three months cannot be denied maternity leave. The court said maternity protection is a basic human right and non-biological ways of making a family are equally legal. The court ruled as unconstitutional Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code, which states, "A woman who legally adopts a child below the age of three months or a commissioning mother shall be entitled to maternity benefit for a period of twelve weeks from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother or the commissioning mother, as the case may be." Delivering its judgment in a writ petition, the bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan said, "Although biology has traditionally been the predominant lens through kinship, adoption is an equally valid pathway. It is not biology that constitutes, it is the shared meaning. Biological factors by themselves do not determine family. An adopted child is not different from a natural child."