India Supreme Court Extends Maternity Leave to Adoptive Mothers

The Supreme Court of India ruled on March 17, 2026, that adoptive mothers are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave regardless of the adopted child's age, striking down a provision in the Code on Social Security 2020 that had limited such benefits to children under three months old. The decision, delivered by a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan in New Delhi, declared the restriction unconstitutional under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality and the right to life and personal liberty.

The ruling stemmed from a petition filed in 2021 by advocate Hamsaanandini Nanduri, an adoptive mother of two children, who challenged the age-based limit as arbitrary and discriminatory. The provision, originally from Section 54 of the 1961 Maternity Benefit Act and carried over as Section 604 in the 2020 Code, had created an artificial distinction between adoptive children based solely on age. The court found no rational connection between the child's age and the objectives of maternity benefits, which focus on supporting motherhood rather than childbirth alone.

In its judgment, the bench emphasized that the purpose of maternity protection is to...