New Delhi, March 18 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared as unconstitutional a key provision in the Code on Social Security, 2020, that restricted maternity leave for mothers adopting children below three months of age, holding that all adoptive mothers will be entitled to 12 weeks of leave from the date of adoption, irrespective of the child's age. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ruled that the age-based classification under Section 60(4) of the Code was "discriminatory" and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, emphasising that adoption is an equally valid pathway to parenthood and cannot be treated differently from biological childbirth. The bench also urged the Union government to consider introducing paternity leave as a social welfare measure, signalling the need for a more gender-neutral and inclusive approach to caregiving. Delivering the judgment, justice Pardiwala said, "The impugned provision is held to be discriminatory both for the adoptive mother as well as the adoptive child. Adoption is an equally meaningful pathway for creating a family.biological factors cannot exclusively determine familial values and entitlements." The bench rejected the distinction drawn between mothers adopting infants below three months and those adopting older children.P4...