K. Umadevi vs Government Of Tamil Nadu 2025 INSC 781 - Maternity Benefit Act - Number Of Children
Maternity Benefit Act - Section 5 - A woman employee having less than two surviving children is entitled to a maximum period of benefit i.e. 26 weeks and for a woman employee having two or more than two surviving children, the benefit is restricted to 12 weeks. Thus, there is no ceiling or cap on the number of children to claim maternity benefit. Only thing is that in case of a woman employee having two or more than two surviving children seeking maternity leave, period of the benefit is reduced: from a maximum period of 26 weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks. (Para 19)
Maternity Benefits vs Population Growth- Policy of the State to arrest population growth by resorting to various population control measures is certainly a laudable objective. So is the objective of granting maternity benefit to women employees. The object of having two child norm as part of the measures to control population growth in the country and the object of providing maternity benefit to women employees including maternity leave in circumstances such as in the present case are not mutually exclusive. The two must be harmonized in a purposive and rationale manner to achieve the social objective. [Context: In this case, the appellant has two biological children out of her first wedlock. But that was before entry into her service. Post entry into service and from her subsisting marriage, this is her first child, also the two children out of her first wedlock are not residing with her but with their father, who is having their custody. The State's contention is that Fundamental Rule (FR) 101(a) which is applicable to state government employees of Tamil Nadu, maternity leave is available to women state government employees having less than two surviving children- SC held that appellant shall be granted maternity leave under FR 101(a).
