Supreme Court strikes down law limiting maternity leave to adoption of children under 3 months

Observing that adoption is part of the right to reproductive autonomy, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) struck down a law which said a woman would be eligible for maternity leave if she legally adopts a child below the age of three months.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan held that an adoptive mother should be entitled to maternity leave of 12 weeks, irrespective of the age of the adopted child.

“Section 60(4) of the 2020 Code, insofar as it puts an age limit of three months on the age of the adoptive child for the adoptive mother to avail maternity benefit, is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution,” the Bench said.

The Supreme Court also asked the Centre to come out with a provision recognising paternity leave as a social security benefit.

The Supreme Court’s judgement came on a plea filed by advocate Hamsaanandini Nanduri challenging Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code that allows 12 weeks of maternity leave only if an adoptive mother adopts a child below three months of age.