Supreme Court extends maternity benefits to adoptive mothers
The age-based cutoff for adoptive-mother maternity benefits is invalidated, removing the three-month eligibility limit and creating an entitlement that applies irrespective of the child's age.
Change
The Supreme Court ruled that adoptive mothers are entitled to maternity benefits regardless of the child's age.
Why it matters
The Court ruled that the three-month age restriction cannot be used to deny maternity benefits to adoptive mothers, addressing Section 5(4) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The ruling also referenced the Social Security Code, 2020's age-based limitation as incompatible with equal-protection principles. The Court characterized maternity benefits as covering the broader social and emotional role of motherhood beyond biological childbirth. No implementation timeline or effective date is specified in the excerpt provided.
Implications
- — Employers and HR/payroll teams must treat adoptive mothers as eligible for maternity benefits regardless of the child’s age, altering eligibility verification and payroll processing.
- — Social-security administrators and welfare schemes must update rules and administrative procedures to remove age-based disqualification for adoptive-mother claims.
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