Maternity Leave Vital Part Of Women’s Reproductive Rights : SC

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that maternity leave was an integral component of maternity benefits and a vital part of women’s reproductive rights. The landmark order came on a petition filed by a Tamil Nadu woman government teacher who was denied maternity leave after the birth of her child from a second marriage.

The woman said her maternity leave was denied on grounds that she had two children from her first marriage. Tamil Nadu has a rule that maternity benefits will only be extended to the first two children. Petitioner said she had not availed of any maternity leave or benefits for her two children from her first marriage.

The woman also claimed that she entered government service only after her second marriage. Advocate KV Muthukumar, representing the petitioner, said the state’s decision violated her fundamental rights as she previously didn’t avail of Tamil Nadu’s maternity benefit provisions.