Supreme Court to examine legality of maternity leave cap for adoptive mothers under Social Security
New Delhi: More than 11 months after reserving its verdict, the Supreme Court has decided to examine the constitutional validity of a provision in the Code on Social Security, 2020, that restricts maternity leave for adoptive mothers to cases where the adopted child is below three months of age.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan has permitted Karnataka-based lawyer Hamsaanandini Nanduri to amend her pending petition to directly challenge Section 60(4) of the 2020 Code. The provision, which came into force last month, mirrors an earlier clause in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, despite that law now standing repealed.
ALSO READ: UP Police hashtag tops global trending list on X for over two hours
The court noted that although it had reserved judgment in Nanduri’s petition on January 29, 2025, the Union government proceeded to notify the Social Security Code on November 21, 2025, retaining the very restriction under challenge, as reported by Hindustan times. Observing that Section 60(4) of the new Code is pari materia with Section 5(4) of the 1961 Act, the bench allowed the amendment and said the matter would be listed for pronouncement of judgment after the revised plea is placed on record.
Under Section 60(4), an adoptive mother is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave only if the adopted child is under three months old. The law does not provide any maternity leave for adoptions involving older children, including those who are orphaned, abandoned or surrendered.
In her petition, which was originally filed in 2021, Nanduri has argued that the provision is arbitrary and discriminatory. She also mentioned that it was violating Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution. She has contended that the law creates unreasonable distinctions between biological and adoptive mothers, between different categories of adoptive mothers, and even among adopted children themselves.
Nanduri, who became an adoptive mother in 2017, adopted two siblings through the Central Adoption Resource Authority, a four-and-a-half-year-old girl and her two-year-old brother, after authorities made it clear that the children could not be separated. When she applied for maternity leave, her employer informed her that she was eligible for only six weeks’ leave per child, as neither met the statutory age requirement of three months.
Describing the provision as offering only “lip service” to adoptive parents, Nanduri has maintained that the restriction fails to recognise the emotional, physical and caregiving demands involved in adopting older children, many of whom come from vulnerable backgrounds.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UDF will have huge win in Kerala, NDA won't open its account: Cong leader Satheesan
Kochi (PTI): Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Friday expressed confidence in a huge win by the UDF, claiming it will make a clean sweep in five districts, and brushed aside speculations that the NDA will open its account in Kerala.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters here a day after the conclusion of the Assembly polls, praised the performance of the UDF leaders and workers during the election, saying it was the best ever he has seen in the last 30 years.
He said that his claims of the UDF getting over 100 seats is not a mere statement, but based on the work the front has done during the last five years to bring back all those who had left it in 2005 and as a result, there was a huge wave in its favour in the state.
The leader of opposition in the state assembly, who contested from the Paravoor constituency, further said that the Congress-led front also had a major social backing from minorities and marginalised groups in the society.
Besides that, there was an anti-incumbency feeling among the people who were disappointed with the LDF rule, he claimed and said that the UDF provided them with a hope and an alternative which no other opposition had done in the past.
"All these factors will contribute to a huge win for the UDF and it would not be surprising if we make a clean sweep in Malappuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. That is a total of 43 seats," he said.
According to him, the polling percentage increased because the UDF got people added to the electoral list.
He also brushed aside the LDF remarks about a woman or youth CM, saying that "they can make such statements now as they know they cannot win".
"Otherwise, why did they campaign with Pinarayi Vijayan as the main factor. Why did they say a third Pinarayi rule will come?" he asked.
He also claimed that the LDF's decision to spend government money on its political campaign, by putting up hoardings and carrying out social media programmes to sway voters, has also backfired as people realised that their taxes were being wasted like that.
Asked whether the NDA will open its account, especially in areas where the UDF claimed the BJP-led front had made a deal with the LDF, Satheesan replied in the negative.
He said that as of now he does not see any chance of the NDA opening its account in the state.
