Landmark decision! Orissa HC allows maternity leave to woman attaining motherhood through surrogacy

In a landmark decision, the Orrisa High Court has granted maternity leave to a woman employee who has attained motherhood through surrogacy. The verdict from the court has come during the hearing of a case where the court announced that motherhood through ‘surrogacy’ is also entitled to avail the benefit of maternity leave as it is not only beneficial for the concerned woman but also need for a healthy upbringing of the newborn child. 

The Court’s Observation

The single bench of Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigarhi while granting the sanction said that it’s a vital right of female employees. She added, “If the government can provide maternity leave to an adoptive mother, then it is not right to refuse to provide maternity leave to a mother who has begotten a child through surrogacy procedure.”

The court noted that under Rule 194 of the Odisha Service Code, a woman employee is entitled to avail 180 days of maternity leave and that benefit can be extended to female employees who attain motherhood though adoption.

The court also referred a case from the Rajasthan High Court, where it cited the ruling by Smt Chanda Keswani v. State of Rajasthan, wherein the court held that a woman cannot be denied maternity leave for having a child through surrogacy once surrogacy has been approved by the Parliament through the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulations) Act, 2021.

The outcome of the petition

As a result, the court directed the state to grant 180 days of maternity leave to the petitioner and ordered to incorporate the rules for providing maternity leave to mothers who are taking surrogacy as a provision to experience motherhood.