In a landmark judgment for parental rights, the Supreme Court of India has struck down a restrictive provision in the Code on Social Security, 2020, ruling that all adoptive mothers are entitled to maternity benefits regardless of the age of the child they adopt.
The court declared Section 60(4) of the Code—which limited the 12-week maternity leave benefit to mothers adopting infants below the age of three months—as unconstitutional and a violation of the Right to Equality under the Constitution.
