NEW DELHI: SC on Tuesday urged the Centre to bring in a law to recognise paternity leave as a social security benefit, highlighting the long-overlooked role of a father in caring for newborns.“Society has historically attributed caregiving and nurturing responsibilities almost exclusively to mothers. While the role of a mother is undeniably central to a child’s emotional, physical, and psychological development, it would be incomplete and unjust to overlook the equally significant role of a father,” a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said. The court said society has normalised an unintentional form of injustice. Supreme Court made the suggestions while setting aside a provision in Code on Social Security that denied maternity leave to a woman adopting a child older than three months. It said a father’s absence during a child’s formative years due to job constraints denies both opportunity for early bonding, and suggested a law on paternity leave on the lines of the CCS (Leave) Rules, which grant male govt servants 15 days’ paternity leave for the birth of the child or adoption.“Parenthood is not a solitary function performed by one parent but rather a shared responsibility in which each parent contributes to the child’s holistic development. Although the father is present at the periphery of infancy, yet he is not present in the intimate and irreplaceable way that society has always presumed the mother must be. This acceptance of absence has seldom been examined with the seriousness it deserves. As a result, the cost is borne silently by children who grow up never realising what they lacked, by fathers who were constrained by circumstances to remain distant. At the same time, by mothers who were denied the companionship and support of their partners in the early phase of caregiving,” it said.The court said the lack of paternity leave reinforces gendered roles in parenting and denies willing fathers a meaningful opportunity to contribute.“When fathers are afforded the opportunity to take leave following the arrival of the child, they are able to support mother and share family responsibilities. …We urge govt to come up with a provision recognising paternity leave as a social security benefit. The duration of such leave must be determined in a manner that is responsive to the needs of both the parent and the child,” it said.
