What Happened
- The Supreme Court struck down Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code, 2020, which had restricted maternity benefits to adoptive mothers only when the adopted child was below three months of age — effectively barring most adoptive mothers from receiving the 12-week maternity leave guarantee.
- A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan held the restriction unconstitutional for violating Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 21 (right to life and dignity), declaring it irrational and lacking a reasonable nexus with the objective of the Code.
- The Court ruled that adoptive mothers — and commissioning mothers — are now entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave from the date the child is handed over to them, irrespective of the child's age.
- The bench observed: "The object of maternity benefit is not associated with the process of childbirth but with the process of motherhood," drawing a conceptual line between biological birth and maternal caregiving.
- The Court urged the government to formally recognise paternity leave as a social security benefit, emphasising shared caregiving responsibility between both parents.
- The ruling addresses a practical inequity: by the time most adoptions are legally finalised, children typically exceed three months — meaning the old provision was unworkable in practice for most adoptive families.
Static Topic Bridges
Social Security Code, 2020 — Consolidation of Labour Laws
The Social Security Code, 2020 is one of four labour codes enacted by Parliament to consolidate and rationalise India's fragmented labour legislation. It subsumes nine central laws including the Employees' Provident Funds Act, 1952, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, and the Gratuity Act, 1972 into a single comprehensive code.
- Section 60 of the Social Security Code governs maternity benefits; Section 60(4) — now struck down — restricted adoptive mother benefits based on child age.
- The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 had previously extended paid maternity leave for biological mothers from 12 to 26 weeks for the first two children; the 2020 Code retained the 26-week provision for biological mothers but only 12 weeks for adoptive/commissioning mothers.
- The Code applies to all establishments with 10 or more employees in the organised sector.
- The four labour codes (Wages, Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Social Security) consolidate 44 central labour laws; implementation by states remains pending for many.
Connection to this news: The struck-down Section 60(4) was a residual inequity within the consolidated code — highlighting how legislative consolidation can inadvertently preserve discriminatory provisions if not carefully scrutinised for constitutional compliance.
Article 14 and the Doctrine of Reasonable Classification
Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of laws to all persons. While Article 14 permits classification (treating different groups differently), the classification must satisfy two conditions: (i) it must be based on an intelligible differentia (a clear distinguishing criterion), and (ii) the differentia must have a rational nexus with the object of the legislation.
- If a classification fails either prong — intelligible differentia or rational nexus — the law is void as arbitrary under Article 14.
- The Supreme Court in E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu (1974) expanded Article 14 to cover arbitrariness: "Equality is antithetic to arbitrariness."
- Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978) linked Articles 14, 19, and 21 into a "golden triangle," holding that a law that is arbitrary also violates Article 14 even if it doesn't technically classify persons.
- In the maternity leave case, the Court found no rational nexus between the three-month age cap and the legislative purpose of supporting the caregiving needs of adoptive mothers.
Connection to this news: The Court applied the rational nexus test under Article 14 to find that the age cap on adoptive mothers' maternity leave was arbitrary — a caregiving child of four months needs as much maternal attention as a child of two months, making the cut-off irrational.
Maternity Benefits in India — Evolution of Protections
India's maternity benefit framework has evolved over six decades, from the Mines Maternity Benefit Act, 1941 to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (which covered non-mining establishments), to the 2017 Amendment extending leave for biological mothers, and now the 2020 Social Security Code.
- Maternity Benefit Act, 1961: Original 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.
- Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017: Extended to 26 weeks for first two children; 12 weeks for third child onwards; 12 weeks for adoptive mothers (child below 3 months) — this 3-month cap is what was struck down.
- The 2017 Amendment also introduced the option of work-from-home after the initial leave period (by mutual agreement), and mandated creche facilities in establishments with 50+ employees.
- International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 183 on Maternity Protection recommends at least 14 weeks of maternity leave.
Connection to this news: The 2026 Supreme Court ruling completes a gap left by the 2017 Amendment — which advanced protections for biological mothers but created an irrationally narrow window for adoptive mothers — by extending equal rights regardless of the child's age at adoption.
Adoption Law in India — CARA and the Hindu Adoption Framework
India's legal framework for adoption has two parallel tracks: (i) adoptions under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs) and (ii) adoptions under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 governed by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) for all religions.
- CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development regulates inter-country and domestic adoptions for all religions.
- The JJ Act, 2015 is the secular adoption law applicable to all citizens regardless of religion.
- Average time for CARA-regulated adoption processes often extends to 1-3 years, meaning most adopted children are well over three months by the time placement occurs.
- The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 allows adoption of children of any age but the adopting parent and child must meet certain age-gap and capacity requirements.
Connection to this news: The Supreme Court's observation that "by the time children legally qualify for adoption, they typically exceed three months" reflects the reality of CARA timelines — making the old three-month restriction practically unworkable and thus irrational under Article 14.
Key Facts & Data
- Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code, 2020 — struck down as unconstitutional (violates Articles 14 and 21).
- Bench: Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan.
- New entitlement: Adoptive mothers get 12 weeks maternity leave from date of child handover, irrespective of child's age.
- Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017: 26 weeks for biological mothers (first two children); 12 weeks for adoptive mothers (previously restricted to child below 3 months).
- Article 14 test: Intelligible differentia + rational nexus with legislative object.
- Court also urged formal legal recognition of paternity leave as social security benefit.
- CARA average adoption processing time: 1–3 years (most placed children exceed 3 months).
- ILO Maternity Protection Convention 183: Recommends minimum 14 weeks of maternity leave.